


Beauty Shot

by TheLegendOfChel



Series: Bonding Moments [13]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist Keith (Voltron), Background Allura/Lotor/Romelle, Bondage, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Cock Warming, Cosplay, Costume Kink, Costumes, Crossdressing, Dom Lance (Voltron), Dom/sub Undertones, Erotica, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Gags, Jealous Keith (Voltron), Jealous Lance (Voltron), Kink Discovery, Light BDSM, M/M, Minor Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Minor Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Minor Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Model Keith (Voltron), Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Photographer Lance (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Slow Burn, Sub Keith (Voltron), Top Lance (Voltron), Wingman Shiro (Voltron), eventually, this is basically just an excuse to tie keith up in different costumes lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-01-24 19:47:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21343729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLegendOfChel/pseuds/TheLegendOfChel
Summary: When commissions run dry, Keith turns to his side gig as a model for Lance’s erotica website. It's fast money, and the photos are usually tasteful. This time, however, Lance asks if Keith would like to try something tailored to a more specific kink.Keith agrees, not expecting the experience to awaken something within him. Something that will bring him back to Lance's studio again and again.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Bonding Moments [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1142345
Comments: 534
Kudos: 1061





	1. Secretary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! ❀(*´◡`*)❀

Keith stared at his computer. Despite his menacing glare, the numbers on the screen refused to change, and he shut his laptop with a sigh. 

Keith loved being a freelance artist. He was his own boss, and got to work from home doing something he was passionate about. Sure, there was the occasional difficult client, but overall, Keith was happy.

That said, sometimes the number of commissions ran dry, and with them, his bank account. 

Biting his lip, Keith drummed his fingers against his desk. Shiro and Adam were in the middle of preparing for a very expensive wedding, so he didn’t want to ask them for a loan if he could help it. He could try to find a part time job, but minimum wage still wasn’t enough to cover his rent, bills, and food, not to mention stuff for his dog Kosmo, and if he got multiple jobs, he wouldn’t have time to work on what few art commissions he did get.

There was one last option. Honestly, Keith wasn’t sure why he bothered considering other ideas first when he always ended up picking this one. Pride, maybe. 

Keith picked up his phone to thumb through his texts. Before he could second guess himself, he typed out a message and tapped send, heart beating a mile a minute. No matter how many times he did this, it always made him nervous. Air rushed out of his lungs as Keith set the phone back down, only to jump when the screen lit up again.

That was fast.

Blinking, Keith scanned the reply. 

Well, at least he wouldn’t have to work as a waiter or cashier now.

\-----

“Okay, tilt your head back a little bit. Yeah, just like that. Now, look at me. Okay, now look up to the left. Perfect.”

Keith obeyed, holding as still as possible. It wasn’t too hard, since he was laying down on a bed, legs splayed out and slightly bent with a corner of the crisp white sheet draped tastefully across his hips. Keith’s long dark hair was fanned over the pillow, upon which one of his hands curled loosely by his cheek as he stared up at the camera lens.

“Now give me a smolder.”

“A what,” Keith replied flatly.

The camera lowered to reveal twinkling blue eyes.

“Y’know, a smolder,” Lance said. “Like this.”

He proceeded to do something with his face that reminded Keith of a simpering starlet from a black and white movie. Keith snorted.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that.”

Lance stopped batting his eyelashes to frown at Keith.

“C’mon, Keith. The broody pout is sexy, but your portfolio could use a little variation.”

“I don’t care about my portfolio,” Keith said. “I’m not one of your regular models, remember?”

“True, but I’m always willing to change that,” Lance replied with a wink.

Keith rolled his eyes. 

A few years ago, when he was just starting out and struggling financially even more than now, Keith had answered an ad for an amateur modeling gig. Though his credentials were sparse, he landed an interview. 

Still, Keith had been reluctant despite his need for money. The gig was clearly for some kind of erotica website, and Keith had read more than one horror story online about scams and human trafficking. But he was desperate, so Keith went to the interview...after he bought a small can of pepper spray, and told Shiro to call the police if he didn’t check in by six o’clock.

Keith went to the texted address. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t a nice brownstone apartment with hardwood floors and a homey interior.

The biggest shock of all, however, was the interviewer himself. Maybe he was stereotyping, but Keith figured a person running what was essentially a porn site would be, well, kinda shady, if not outright creepy. Lance McClain, however, was a perfect host from the moment Keith knocked on his door. He was kind and amicable, inviting Keith to the living room like they were old friends instead of two strangers about to do an interview.

At first, Keith was wary. Maybe Lance’s behavior was just an act to get Keith to lower his guard. Lots of con men were charismatic, right? That’s how they got away with stuff.

However, the more they talked, the more ernest Lance seemed. He asked Keith about himself and appeared to be genuinely interested in his answers. Keith asked him questions as well, and Lance’s blue eyes lit up with excitement as he told Keith about his business.

Lance was a freelance photographer whose workflow ran somewhat similarly to Keith’s own. Clients would commission him to shoot special events, and he had done some landscape shoots for nature and travel magazines as well. However, Lance also liked to dabble in photographing people, claiming that he had a love for capturing beauty with his lens, and what was more beautiful than the human body? He networked with some like minded artists, found interested models, and the Lazuli website was born.

What started out as a side hobby quickly turned into a business even more lucrative than his normal one. Lance admitted to Keith that a part of him was disappointed, but an even bigger part was thrilled.

“I still take the occasional bar mitzvah or wedding gig,” Lance said, “but Lazuli is my main source of income nowadays. It’s kind of awesome. I really like working with models one on one to get the most artistic vision.” Lance scrubbed a bashful hand through his hair. “Well, as artistic as you can get with amateaur erotica.” 

“They definitely look different from most other stuff I’ve seen,” Keith offered. “Very elegant.”

“Thanks!” Lance grinned.

It wasn't just an empty compliment. Keith had clicked through the website to make sure it was legitimate, and had been pleasantly surprised by what he saw. While the photos were undeniably erotic in nature, most were done in a tasteful kind of way, like one might see in a classy magazine. The sets, lighting, and outfits had also been impressive. Lazuli’s sophisticated nature and high production quality had been a large factor in Keith deciding to apply to the job.

Once they were done talking, Lance took Keith into the studio for a test run. The room was decked out with lights, backdrops, and equipment that made it look like a photoshoot for a magazine rather than an amateur porn website.

Lance directed Keith to sit on the fainting couch in the middle of the room. He didn’t ask Keith to strip, saying he was more concerned about Keith’s modeling abilities than his looks. Keith had no qualms with nudity, but appreciated it nonetheless.

Over the next half hour, Keith followed Lance’s guidance into various poses. He had done some modeling for art classes in school, but this was a whole different beast with the harsh lights and more specific instructions. Though on the other hand, Keith had much more freedom to move around, which made things a bit easier. 

“Alright, I think that went well,” Lance said as he tucked his camera into its case. “It felt like we had a good vibe going, y’know?”

Keith nodded. Lance gave good direction without being demanding, and Keith had felt his nerves gradually fade away until he was almost comfortable.

“I know this was just a test run, but we got some great shots,” Lance continued. “Wanna see?”

Keith joined Lance at the monitor. Dozens of photos filled the screen of Keith in different poses, some casual as he lounged on the fainting couch, some bright and cheerful as he laughed at something Lance had said, some seductive as Keith gave the camera a heated look from beneath his eyelashes. 

“And this is without any kind of color correction or editing,” Lance shot Keith a wink. “You, my friend, are extremely photogenic.”

“Oh,” Keith blinked, a faint blush painting his cheeks, “um, thanks.”

Needless to say, Keith got the job. He’d done a handful of other gigs since then when money was scarce, which all led up to Keith laying on a bed under several bright lights with nothing to hide his modesty except a white sheet.

“Well, if you won’t give me a smolder, how about a smile?” Lance said. 

“Are smiles sexy?” Keith asked skeptically.

“They can be,” Lance replied. “Picture this. You wake up in bed next to the love of your life. You look over at them and they give you a soft smile filled with tenderness and affection.”

“Sounds more romantic than sexy.”

“The two are not mutually exclusive,” Lance sniffed. He paused before adding, “Though it might help if the love of your life is super hot and naked.”

A surprised huff of laughter bubbled up from Keith’s chest. He brought the hand that had been resting on the pillow closer to cover his mouth as he chuckled, then looked up at the sound of the camera shutter rapidly clicking.

“There, that was perfect!” Lance said. “Possibly even the best picture of the whole shoot.”

“If you say so.”

A short jingle made Lance dig his phone out of his pocket. As he scanned the text, his smile transformed into a frown.

“Something wrong?” Keith asked.

“My next model just cancelled,” Lance replied. 

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

“Yeah,” Lance sighed. “Now I’m gonna have to find a last minute replacement if I wanna get this photoset out on time.”

Keith hummed sympathetically. He was glad he didn’t have to rely on other people for his art. 

“Well, anyway, I think we’re done,” Lance said. “Good work today, as always.”

“Thanks,” Keith mumbled, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

He sat up and waited for Lance to leave the room so he could change. However, Lance didn’t move, and instead looked at Keith with a pensive gaze.

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in filling in?” Lance finally asked. “You’d be doing me a huge favor, and the gig pays almost twice as much as this one.”

Keith paused. More money usually meant more explicit content, and he was already naked. What could the photoshoot possibly involve to garner higher pay? As far as he knew, Lazuli didn't feature hardcore porn. Keith glanced down warily at the white sheet covering his groin.

Apparently following his train of thought, Lance flapped a hand at him and said, “Oh, it’s not that. In fact, you’d be wearing _ more _ clothes.”

He quickly explained the nature of the gig, and as Keith listened, his trepidation began to fade. It didn’t sound too bad, and he could use the extra money. 

“Okay,” Keith agreed. “I’ll give it a try.”

Lance’s eyes lit up. 

“Thanks, Keith,” he said, relieved. “You’re a lifesaver!”

After further discussion about what the job entailed and what would be expected of him, Keith went to the bathroom to touch up his makeup and change into costume. 

As usual, Keith was surprised by the level of detail. The charcoal grey slacks and waistcoat looked and felt like they were made of high quality fabric, and contrasted nicely with the crisp white shirt. Keith knotted the slim wine red tie and tucked it under the waistcoat before pulling his hair into a neat ponytail. A sleek pair of glasses completed the ensemble.

Keith walked back to the studio and blinked. Somehow in the time it took him to change outfits, Lance had completely transformed the set from a bedroom into an office. 

The photographer looked up from where he was arranging props on the desk and flashed Keith a grin.

“Oh good, they fit,” Lance said. He came over to run a critical eye up and down Keith’s body. “Any issues? Are you comfortable?”

Keith shrugged, trying to remain aloof under Lance’s stare. “The shoes are a little big, but that’s about it.”

“Great,” Lance smiled. “Ready to start?”

Keith nodded and Lance handed him a folder. Curious, Keith peeked inside to find several pages of what appeared to be the script for the Bee Movie. He shot Lance a look.

“Really?”

Lance winked. “Just a little joke for anyone who looks close enough.”

Keith rolled his eyes, and got into position. Unlike the photoshoots Keith had done in the past that were just a series of glamor shots, this one would be more like a scene with a story, though “story” might be a bit of an exaggeration. 

They started with pictures of Keith pretending to be a normal, if weirdly attractive, secretary. Under Lance’s direction, he acted like he was reading important documents while leaning casually against the desk, or speaking to a client on the phone, or editing the movie script with a red pen. It was kind of fun, and gave Keith time for his nerves to settle.

“Okay, I think we got plenty of great shots for this part,” Lance said. “Let’s move on.”

Keith nodded. Since this was a photoshoot and not a video, they could cheat a little with the progression of the story.

Lance set down his camera and walked up to Keith. 

“May I?” he asked.

Keith swallowed, butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the other man's proximity. “Sure.”

He tried to will his heart to calm down as Lance reached up to undo Keith’s ponytail. Lance’s eyes were sharp with focus while he mussed up Keith’s hair to make it artfully messy. Those crystal blue irises lowered and warm fingers left Keith’s hair to gently tug at the wine red tie, leaving it loose and slightly askew. Keith barely dared to breathe as Lance unbuttoned the top of his shirt, caught off guard when Lance’s gaze rose back up to meet his own.

“There,” Lance smiled. “Perfect.”

Despite his best efforts, the blush on Keith’s cheeks remained for the next several shots. He hoped Lance just thought he was a good actor.

For this part, Keith had to pretend that the camera, and therefore the viewer, was his boss who Keith was trying to seduce in increasingly unsubtle ways.

“That’s it, now give me a coy look,” Lance said. “Like you want it, but you won’t admit it.”

Keith’s expression was probably less coy and more confused. “What?”

“Y’know,” Lance flapped a hand at him, “like you’re tsundere.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a nerd.”

“Hey, you understood what I meant, so who’s the nerd now, huh?”

“Still you.”

Keith would never tell Lance that that actually did help him understand what to do.

As the scene continued, Keith’s outfit gradually became more undone. He untucked his shirt from his pants, loosened the tie until it merely draped over the back of his neck, and lost his waistcoat, shoes, and socks entirely. His glasses stayed on though, because according to Lance they were an integral part of his character or whatever.

After about an hour, Lance told him to take a break. Keith drank bottled water while he watched Lance rearrange the office supplies on the desk so it looked like everything had been knocked over in a fit of passion. He then brought over some kind of rig that he attached his camera to so it would look straight down from above the desk.

“Ready when you are,” Lance said.

Keith took one last sip and walked back onto the set. Lance leveled a serious look at him.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this, right?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Keith said.

“If there’s anything you don’t like, or that makes you uncomfortable, just say the word.”

“I will.”

Seemingly satisfied, Lance reached up to pull the tie from around Keith’s neck. Keith held up his hands and Lance wrapped the fabric around his wrists.

“Is that okay?” Lance asked. “Not too tight?”

Keith tested his new bonds. It was snug, but he didn’t feel like it was digging into his skin. If anything, he could probably wriggle out of it if he wanted to.

“It’s fine,” he finally replied.

Lance grinned. He helped Keith sit on the desk, then supported his weight as Keith leaned back to lay across it. That focused look returned to Lance’s eyes, and he adjusted some of the objects around Keith into what Keith assumed was a more aesthetic placement. Lance took Keith’s arms and guided them to rest over his head, his hands gentle yet firm as they pressed Keith’s wrists to the desk’s surface. He took a moment to arrange the fall of Keith’s hair and the loose ends of the tie, then stepped back to play with the monitor that was hooked up to the camera.

“Okay, so for this part of the scene, your boss has finally given in to your masterful seduction, and in a fit of unbridled lust, he tied you up and threw you onto the desk to ravish you,” Lance said cheerfully.

“Uh huh,” Keith blinked up at the lens above him. They had done a few angles like this in the past and it always felt a little weird.

“Now, since your character is a tsundere,” Lance said, ignoring Keith snort, “for these next few shots you wanna put up a bit of a struggle. Not too much, just enough to make things fun.”

“Um, okay,” Keith bit his lip. “How do I do that?”

“Y’know, just kinda,” Lance made an odd gesture that Keith had no idea how to interpret, “squirm around a bit. See if you can get your hands free. If you do, we can always just bind them again.”

Keith felt a faint blush rise to his cheeks. He nodded and Lance gave him a thumbs up to let Keith know he was ready.

Keith stared up at the camera. Tentatively, he tried to pull his wrists out of the silk tie’s hold. The soft fabric twisted and grew taut, but didn’t loosen, and a small frown grew between his brows as he tugged harder. Keith soon became so focused on trying to wriggle out of it, he nearly forgot about the camera altogether, heat pooling in his belly with the dawning realization that he couldn’t break free.

“Great, that was perfect!”

Reality came crashing back and Keith blinked up at Lance’s grinning face.

“It was?” he asked.

“Yeah, your expression was spot on,” Lance said. “You looked frustrated, but into it. It was cute.”

The flush on Keith’s cheeks grew darker at the praise.

“A couple more shots and we should be done,” Lance continued. “How would you feel about wearing a gag?”

Keith shrugged. “I guess I could try it.”

Lance nodded and retrieved a piece of white cloth and another tie, this one a dark navy blue. Keith guessed it was supposed to belong to his “boss.”

“If you need me to take it out for any reason, just snap your fingers or knock on the desk,” Lance said.

“Okay.”

Lance helped him sit up, explaining that it would be easier to tie the gag on that way. He also gave Keith some more water, which made Keith realize how thirsty he was after being under the hot studio lights. Once he’d had his fill, Keith opened his mouth so that Lance could tuck the balled up white cloth inside. Lance then pushed the blue tie between Keith’s lips, knotting it behind his head.

“Doing okay?” Lance asked.

“Mmhmmph,” Keith nodded.

Lance smiled and lowered Keith back onto the desk.

“Do you mind if I unbutton these?” he asked, pointing at the row of buttons on Keith’s shirt.

Keith shrugged, and shivered as Lance did so, spreading the shirt open so that Keith’s bare torso was on full display. One of Lance’s hands brushed against Keith’s nipple, and the tiniest moan crept up his throat, muffled by the gag.

Lance paused. Mortified, Keith felt heat rush to his face. Lance cleared his throat, his own cheeks slightly pink.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

Keith tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but all that came out was a, “Hmmh mmph hnn.”

Thankfully, Lance still seemed to understand and shot Keith a grateful smile. “I think we’re about ready to start again. Let me just fix your hair real quick.”

Keith nodded. As Lance began to fiddle with his locks, Keith’s eyes drifted shut. The feeling of his wrists being bound together was oddly thrilling, but the gag in his mouth and the way it muffled his words was almost intoxicating. Keith had never considered that he might have an oral fixation, but he couldn’t deny that a small part of him wanted to talk and moan and shout to test the gag’s limits.

In the handful of times Keith modeled for Lance, he had never gotten hard. That was no longer the case, and while he knew Lance wouldn’t judge him for it, Keith really hoped he wouldn’t notice.

Lance’s fingers in his hair were definitely not helping.

“There,” chirped the photographer in question. His hands slipped out of Keith’s hair and Keith opened his eyes to find Lance looking down at him, his previously hyper-focused expression replaced by something else.

“Beautiful,” Lance said softly.

Keith returned his stare with a hint of shyness. Lance seemed to come back to himself and pulled away with a small cough.

“Let’s finish this up.”

He snapped more photos while Keith tried to look sufficiently ravished. At least he didn’t have to fake being turned on anymore, as mortifying as that was. Keith stretched out across the desk’s surface, arching his spine as his wrists twisted in their bonds. Another small moan escaped through the gag, and Keith froze.

“Uh, it’s okay,” Lance’s voice said from behind the monitor. “Even though the viewers won’t hear you, feel free to make as much noise as you want. You’d be surprised how much it can affect your body language and facial expressions.”

The embarrassment faded slightly at the reminder that no one but Lance would ever hear him, but then it returned at the reminder that _ Lance _ would hear him. Even so, Keith took his advice and stopped repressing the little moans and whimpers that burst forth as he writhed.

Before he knew it, Lance’s face popped back into view. He looked oddly flushed.

“Okay, I think that’s a wrap,” he said. “Great job, Keith! You’re a natural at this.”

With a long blink, Keith slowly came back to himself. He still felt a little out of it as Lance helped him sit up and removed the tie and gag.

“We’re done?” Keith asked.

“Yup,” Lance nodded. “I mean, unless you wanna keep going. I did have one more pose planned for the original model, but it’s not quite as, uh, beginner friendly.”

Keith cocked his head curiously.

Twenty minutes later, Keith was harder than ever, though his new position of being bent over the desk hid that fact from the camera. Good thing too, since he was pretty sure the miniskirt did nothing to help hide his arousal.

“How are you holding up?” Lance asked between shots.

“Mmh fhhn,” Keith replied.

“Okay, let me know if you want to stop.”

Keith nodded. He could see why Lance had been reluctant to ask him to do this. The pose was definitely less comfortable than anything that came before. The upper half of Keith’s body rested on the desk, face turned with one cheek pressed against the hard wooden surface so he could look into the lens. At least since it was supporting most of his weight, Keith didn’t have to worry about balancing in four-inch heels, though they did make his ass stick higher up in the air to show off the miniskirt in all its glory. To top it all off, Keith’s arms were tied together behind his back, and a ball gag was buckled around his head.

Keith felt a little bit of drool slide down his cheek and wrinkled his nose. He liked the first gag better.

“And, done,” Lance announced. “For real, this time.”

He set his camera down and helped Keith stand upright. Keith was vaguely amused to note the high heels made him slightly taller than Lance.

“Let’s get you out of this stuff,” Lance eyed the complicated straps on the Keith’s shoes. “You mind if I carry you over to the couch? It’ll be more comfortable.”

Keith nodded, his stomach giving a little swoop when Lance easily picked him up bridal style. He set Keith down on the small sofa pressed against the wall, and Keith tried not to feel disappointed that the trip only took a few seconds.

Lance unbuckled the gag with nimble fingers.

“What did you think?” he asked as he untied Keith’s wrists.

“I liked it,” Keith said. “It was...fun.”

“I’m glad,” Lance kneeled in front of Keith to start removing the high heels. “You seemed to enjoy it more than the other times you modeled.”

Keith’s cheeks flushed and he averted his gaze. Lance seemed to sense his embarrassment, so he merely smiled.

“Do you think you’d be willing to do something like this again?”

Keith looked down at Lance in surprise. “Really? I thought I was just filling in.”

“I told you, you’re a natural,” Lance smirked. “You could be one of our most popular models if you wanted to. Plus fetish pics pay better than the generic nudes.”

Keith pursed his lips and looked away again. 

“I’ll think about it,” he finally said.

Lance seemed to accept this answer for the time being. He retrieved some lotion to rub into Keith’s wrists. Bright red, Keith stuttered that Lance didn’t have to do that, but Lance insisted, so Keith sat in silence as large, warm hands massaged and soothed his muscles. He had to admit, he did feel better after a bit of pampering, both physically and emotionally.

Keith changed back into his clothes and said his goodbyes. Lance promised he would send the money to Keith’s account by the next day, and told him to come back soon. His charming grin stayed in Keith’s mind for the rest of the night, but it wasn’t the only thing stuck in Keith’s brain.

As Keith laid in bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about the modeling gig. How it felt to be tied up and gagged, defenceless and on display for whoever happened to visit Lance’s website. And sure, he had been on the site before in arguably more compromising positions, but this felt different somehow. This time, Keith himself had derived pleasure from the experience.

It felt new and raw and scary and exciting all at once, and if nothing else Keith knew one thing.

He was gonna have to buy some scarves and ties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ヾ(´▽｀*)ﾉ☆
> 
> If you're new to my works, please check out the Bonding Moments series for more klance bondage!
> 
> Unlike most of my other bondage fics, this one will be multi-chaptered with each chapter focusing on a different photoshoot. I’ve got plenty in store with more outfits and cosplay for Keith to model, and of course developing his and Lance’s relationship, so stay tuned! 
> 
> See you next time!


	2. Felix Hugo Fraldarius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! (๑¯◡¯๑)

Keith’s fingers drummed a nervous rhythm as he stared down at his phone. A month had passed since that fateful photoshoot where Keith discovered a new side to himself, but it was still fresh in his mind. He couldn’t deny that a large part of him wanted to reach out to Lance again to oh so casually ask if he needed any more work like that, but in an ironic twist of fate Keith’s art business had picked back up and he was in a good place financially for once. 

Not that he needed to be broke to take the gig, but the amount of commissions had left little time for Keith to leave his studio, let alone go across the city so he could put on a sexy outfit and get tied up.

Keith finally finished the bulk of the work yesterday, so he could take a couple of days to rest. The smart thing would be to use that time to run errands and restock his kitchen, not go to Lance’s apartment for bondage fun time.

But he really, really wanted to.

Keith had done some experimentation on his own, researching stuff online and trying a few simpler ties that beginners could do, but it just wasn’t the same. It was still fun, but Keith never got that rush he’d felt when Lance had tightened the tie around his wrists or pressed the gag between his lips.

Giving himself a little shake, Keith hardened his resolve and opened his texts.

_ Hey, Lance. Was wondering if you have any gigs available this weekend?  _ Keith paused for a moment, then added,  _ I’m open to the same sort of thing as last time. _

He set his phone down, only to blink when a reply popped up almost immediately.

_ Hey, man! _ it read.  _ Great timing! We actually just got a commission for a role that you would be perfect for! _

A role Keith would be perfect for? What did that even mean? Before Keith could reply, another text popped up.

_ How do you feel about cosplay? _

\-----

“Uhh, so who am I supposed to be again?” 

Keith eyed his reflection in the full length mirror. When Lance told him he’d be dressing up as a video game character, Keith hadn’t expected so many...layers. The blue pants and black turtleneck weren’t so bad, but then he had to put a white outer shirt-jacket-thing with poofy sleeves, and then another blue jacket on top of that that draped asymmetrically down to his knees. A pair of dark blue thigh high boots went on over his pants, and a fur lined, hooded cape was clasped around Keith’s neck to hang down his back. 

“Felix Hugo Fraldarius,” Lance pronounced grandly as he buckled a leather pauldron onto Keith’s left shoulder. 

“Never heard of him.”

“He’s from the Fire Emblem series,” Lance said. “Nobleman. Likes swords. A little tsundere.” He shot Keith a bright grin. “Just like you!”

Keith scowled. “I am not tsundere.”

Lance patted him on the head. “Sure you’re not, bud. Now let’s fix your hair.”

Despite Keith’s grumbling, Lance managed to guide him to sit in front of a makeup vanity. Keith tried to maintain his displeased expression, but it was difficult with Lance’s fingers running soothingly through his hair.

“I’m glad you haven’t cut it since we won’t have to mess with a wig,” Lance said. “It’s kinda too bad we’re not doing Felix’s school appearance though. You’d look super cute with a bun.”

Keith’s pride took another hit, warmth flooding his cheeks. He remained silent as Lance pulled his hair into a high ponytail before carefully tugging a few strands loose to frame his face.

“There,” Lance smiled softly. 

Keith regarded himself in the mirror. Now that the transformation was complete, he had to admit it did look pretty cool, in an over-the-top anime kind of way. 

Lance touched up Keith’s makeup, then led him into the studio. Keith really needed to ask who Lance hired to make his sets because they never failed to impress him. This time it resembled what one might see on stage for a play, with a small but sturdy looking backdrop attached to a portable platform, all of which was made to look like the inside of a castle. Upon closer inspection, Keith realized the wall was three-dimensional and quite thick. It would probably take some effort to make it fall down. A rusted sconce holding a torch was attached to the corner, though a quick touch revealed it was some kind of foam material, and a pair of manacles hung down in the middle of the backdrop. Although several lights surrounded the set, Lance had placed colored filters over them to give the illusion of a dimly lit dungeon.

“Here’s the scenario,” Lance said. “You are Felix Hugo Fraldarius, eldest surviving son of your house, and childhood friend of Prince Dmitri.”

Keith blinked. “Um, okay.”

“The three royal houses are at war!” Lance continued dramatically. “You joined your friends in battle, but alas cruel fate,” he pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, “the Flame Emperor’s army gained the upper hand, and you were taken captive.”

“Sounds like a real pickle.”

Lance opened one eye to squint at him. Keith’s deadpan expression broke as his lips twitched into a smile. Lance rolled his eyes.

“So yeah, that’s a basic setup,” he said. “Any questions?”

“Seems simple enough,” Keith shrugged. “I’m a prisoner of war in a medieval fantasy anime video game, right?”

Lance opened his mouth, finger raised. He paused, then nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Cool. Let’s do this.”

Lance directed Keith to sit on the floor, which had also been painted to look like stone. He locked Keith’s wrists into the manacles so his arms dangled over his head. Keith was faintly surprised to find that, unlike the rest of the set, the manacles appeared to be made of real metal. 

“The backdrop is bolted to the platform, so don’t be afraid to pull on it,” Lance said. “Let me know if your arms start to get tired and we can take a break.”

Keith nodded. He tugged experimentally on the chains, a small curl of heat forming in his stomach at how strong they felt.

Lance retrieved his camera and then hopped back onto the makeshift stage.

“Let’s start out easy,” he said. “For these first pictures, just give me your best look of defiance. The enemy you hate has you at their mercy, and they demand you give up information that would put your people in danger. Are you gonna let them?”

Keith glared up at the lens. “No.”

“Even if they threaten you?” Lance challenged, the shutter clicking rapidly. “Torture you?”

Keith’s lips pulled into a snarl. “Never.”

Behind the camera, Lance’s own lips curled into a pleased smile.

“What if they tell you they have your lover in another cell, and will hurt them if you don’t give up the information?”

Keith frowned, momentarily brought out of character. “Who’s my lover?”

“Eh, it depends on the route,” Lance shrugged. “It could be the player character, or Prince Dmitri, or one of the other NPCs. Personally, I like Sylvain the best. He and Felix were childhood friends, and they have a good dynamic.”

Keith hummed. He tried to get in the mindset of someone whose loved one was in danger, and he was helpless to stop it. He would feel upset and scared and guilty.

But mostly he would feel angry. 

If someone had the love of Keith’s life and was trying to use them against him, Keith somehow knew a righteous fury would drive through him without rest until they were safe again. 

_ Click. _

“Perfect!” 

Keith blinked, pulled out of his thoughts out of his thoughts. “Huh?”

“Your expression just now?” Lance raised an eyebrow. “I got chills, dude.”

“Oh, um, sorry.”

“No, no! Whatever you’re doing to get into the zone, keep doing it!” 

“Uh, alright.”

They took a few more shots where Keith tried to look suitably rebellious before Lance decided to move on. He unchained Keith to let him rest his arms, then helped remove the heavy cape and pauldron. Keith was trussed up once more and Lance kneeled beside him with a strip a black silk. 

“This might make it hard to see your expression,” he said as he slipped the fabric over Keith’s eyes, “so try to put more emphasis on body language instead.”

Keith nodded, swallowing hard as Lance knotted the blindfold snugly behind his head. The material was smooth and soft, but thick enough that no light filtered through. Deprived of his sight, Keith became more aware of the sounds of Lance’s footsteps and the click of the camera’s shutter. The cool touch of metal around his wrists seemed to burn brighter than before, and Keith had to fight down a small moan as he began to pull against his bonds.

“That’s it,” Lance’s voice said. “Try to escape, but don’t be afraid to show your pleasure. The audience wants to see you squirm.”

A growl pushed past Keith’s lips, his spine arching with a sharp thrash of his body.

“Oooh,” Lance teased. “Feisty.”

Footsteps padded closer. Warm fingers gently grabbed Keith’s chin and tilted his face upward.

“Smile for the camera.”

Keith bared his teeth like a wolf. He heard a chuckle and a few more clicks, both of which sounded incredibly close. Lance released Keith’s chin and Keith tried not to miss his touch.

“I think we got some really great shots,” Lance said. “Ready to move on?”

Keith nodded. A small shiver ran down his spine as Lance removed the blindfold. He unlocked the manacles, and Keith took a few minutes to rest and drink water while Lance explained what he wanted to do next. When Keith agreed to the plan, Lance directed him to take off his jacket, the weird white outer shirt, and the black turtleneck, and to sit backwards on a chair. Lance pulled up another chair to sit behind Keith and Keith jumped slightly when cold paint touched his bare back.

“Sorry,” Lance said.

“It’s okay,” Keith replied.

He crossed his arms over the chair’s back and propped his chin on them while Lance continued to paint. Although Keith was used to getting paint on his skin due to work, this was the first time it was being put there deliberately, and the first time in that location. At least this paint was actually meant for the human body, unlike his oils and acrylics.

After a while, Keith’s eyes began to fall shut. Once he got used to the sensation of Lance’s fingers and brush gliding over his skin, it became oddly soothing. Luckily, before Keith could do anything embarrassing like fall asleep, Lance pulled back.

“All done.”

Keith went over to a mirror and his eyebrows rose. 

“Not bad, right?” Lance grinned. “You’re not the only artist around here.”

“It looks good,” Keith nodded.

The red lines across Keith’s back really did look like someone had taken a whip to his pale skin. There was no blood or gore, since Lance claimed that type of thing was for a different audience than the one they were aiming for, but the marks were unmistakable. 

“Okay, let’s get you set up,” Lance said.

He dragged a low wooden bench onto the stage. True to form, it looked like something that would fit in with the medieval aesthetic. Under the photographer’s directions, Keith kneeled in front of the bench, facing towards the wall, and Lance held up a metal bar with a belt loop on both ends.

“Ready?”

Keith nodded. He tried not to blush too hard as Lance strapped the spreader bar to his ankles. Lance held a piece of balled up cloth to Keith’s lips and Keith opened his mouth so Lance could push it inside. The heat in his belly grew.

“Does that feel alright?” Lance asked.

“Mmph,” Keith nodded.

Satisfied, Lance grabbed a strip of leather and pushed it between Keith’s teeth. It was supple and soft, and Keith fought down a moan as Lance buckled it tightly behind his head.

Lance grabbed another strip of leather, thicker than the gag, to bind Keith’s wrists together in front of him, then helped Keith lean over the bench to prop himself up on his elbows. For one last touch, Lance pulled Keith’s ponytail out so his long hair fell loose. He swept the black strands aside to fall over Keith’s shoulder, leaving his back visible. As Lance’s fingers brushed over Keith’s neck, Keith had to once again suppress any embarrassing noises that tried to crawl out of his throat. 

“Beautiful,” Lance murmured. 

Keith’s heart gave a little flutter. Lance seemed to come back to himself and stepped away with a small cough.

“Okay, um, just keep doing what you’ve been doing. You’re strong, and defiant, and try as they might, they will not break you.”

Under his directions, Keith looked back over his shoulder to glare at the lens. It was harder to concentrate this time since the gag and increased restraints were making Keith’s mind enter that nice little space he had been trying to replicate since the first photoshoot weeks ago. 

It also didn’t help that, while Keith had been somewhat turned on since Lance first chained him to the wall, now he was getting uncomfortably hard, and the pants he was wearing weren’t exactly loose. Keith tried to adjust his position in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure, but thanks to the bar between his ankles, he instead only succeeded in spreading his knees further apart on the floor.

“Mmmmh,” Keith whined.

“That’s it,” Lance said. His low, soothing voice was not helping Keith’s predicament. “Just do whatever feels natural.”

He circled Keith, taking more pictures. Keith decided to focus on trying to wriggle out of the bindings around his wrists, twisting them this way and that. The leather was wrapped around his wrists a few times, and looped between them, making the bondage quite snug. The more Keith tried to break free, the tighter it seemed to become, and the further his mind slipped into that lovely haze.

“Great. Let’s try a new position,” Lance said.

He set his camera down and helped Keith lay on his back on the floor, then guided Keith’s arms up over his head. Lance picked his camera back up, but kept one hand on Keith’s wrists, pinning them to the ground.

“Is this okay?” Lance asked. He aimed the camera so it was looking at Keith upside down, Lance’s knees just out of frame on either side of Keith’s arms.

Keith nodded. A small shudder ran up his spine as the camera clicked. The warmth of Lance’s fingers around his wrists burned through the leather bindings and traveled down his arms, through his chest, and all the way to his toes. Lance wasn’t even holding on that tightly. Keith could probably pull free without much effort, but the mere fact that another person was restraining him instead of rope or metal made Keith’s heart race.

Almost curiously, Keith tried to tug free, but instead of releasing him, Lance’s grip tightened, firmly pressing Keith’s wrists to the floor.

“Hmmmmh,” Keith moaned.

_ Click. _

The two men froze. Heat flooded Keith’s face and Lance let go of him like he’d been burned.

“Sorry,” Lance blurted out. “Your expression was just so...um, yeah, anyway we should probably move on.”

Avoiding eye contact, Keith allowed Lance to help him to his feet. His embarrassment was quickly forgotten when Lance removed the spreader bar and handed Keith a sword.

“So, at this point Felix has somehow managed to overpower his captor and steal his weapon,” Lance explained. 

He then guided Keith through several cool poses. It was a little awkward with his wrists bound together, but they made do. Keith had always liked knives, and weilding a sword was just as fun, if not more so. Almost enough to distract him from the gag still in his mouth.

Almost.

“Alright, that about does it,” Lance said. “Great work today! You really know how to hold a sword.”

“Is that some kind of innuendo?” Keith asked once Lance pulled off the gag.

He watched in amusement as Lance, who had remained professional even while stripping and tying him up, turned bright red.

“N-no! I was literally talking about the sword! I didn’t mean-”

“Lance, relax,” Keith smirked. “I’m just joking.”

Lance’s flustered expression faded into mild embarrassment. “Oh.”

“But thanks,” Keith added. “I took a stage combat choreography class in college, so I know a thing or two about making dramatic poses with medieval weapons.”

“Oh,” Lance said again. For some reason, a bit of pink returned to his face, but before Keith could wonder why, he was distracted by Lance’s bright grin. “That’s awesome, man! We should definitely use that for future photoshoots!”

“Sure,” Keith shrugged.

He followed Lance over to the small couch. Now knowing what to expect, Keith held out his freed wrists so Lance could massage a bit of oil into the sensitive skin.

“So how did you like cosplaying a specific character?” Lance asked.

“It was fun,” Keith said. “Though I probably would have done a better job if I was actually familiar with him.”

“You did great,” Lance assured him. “I picked you to play Felix because you’re already pretty similar anyway.”

“You keep saying that, but I’m not convinced.”

“Do you have a Switch?” Lance asked. “I have a copy of the game you could borrow.”

“Oh,” Keith blinked. “Um, sure, if you don’t mind.”

“Nah, I’ve already played it a bunch of times to get all the endings. Hold on, I’ll go grab it.” 

By the time Lance returned, Keith had already changed back into his normal clothes. He accepted the video game box, looking curiously at the anime-styled characters on the cover.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” Lance winked. 

Feeling oddly warm, Keith bid Lance goodbye and returned home. Though he knew he ought to get back to working on his remaining commissions, curiosity got the better of Keith and he inserted the cartridge into his console.

Later that night, the chime of Keith’s phone pulled his attention from the TV.

_ So? _ the text message read.  _ What did I tell ya? You’re totally alike, right? _

Keith had noticed some similarities between himself and Felix, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Lance.

_ I still don’t see it, _ Keith replied.  _ You, on the other hand, are totally Sylvain. _

_ Because I’m handsome and charming? ;) _

_ Because you’re ridiculous. _

Keith tossed his phone onto the couch and turned back to the game, chuckling as he ignored the onslaught of indignant texts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve never played a Fire Emblem game in my life so special thanks to everyone on discord that helped with this chapter lol. I wanted Keith’s first cosplay to be a character that was similar to him, and everyone suggested Felix. He and Sylvain apparently also have a dynamic similar to klance, so there you go.
> 
> Anyway, if you liked it, please leave a comment! 
> 
> See you next time! (*´∇｀*)


	3. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do a little something for the holidays ;) 
> 
> Enjoy!

For the next photoshoot, Lance came to Keith.

Well, okay, they were already in the middle of a conversation when Lance brought it up, but still. Before Keith borrowed Lance’s video game, they had only ever contacted each other to discuss business. This was no longer the case. Keith’s phone would chime at least a handful of times throughout the week, but he never felt annoyed by it. Lance was, unfortunately, just as charming via text as he was in person.

Not that he’d ever disliked Lance or anything, but Keith was somewhat surprised to realize they were becoming friends.

Attention divided between shopping online on his laptop and texting with Lance on his phone, Keith reread the message about some kind of event the website was doing.

_ So it’s like an advent calendar? _ he asked.

_ Yeah! _ Lance replied. _ Every day in December, Lazuli will post a pinup of a different model and theme. Then at the end all the pics will be combined into one big holiday album. _

_ Sounds neat. _

_ Thanks! It’s just a little something fun for the people who support the site, y’know? _ Lance wrote. _ So would you like to participate? The bondage themed slot hasn’t been filled yet. ;) _

Keith considered it. Since it was just a pinup and not a full photoset, it wouldn’t pay as much, but Keith wasn’t hurting for money at the moment anyway thanks to an influx of holiday commissions. The number of paintings he was gonna have to do in the coming weeks was almost twice as much as last year, and it was a little overwhelming. Doing this photoshoot might actually help relieve some of that stress.

_ I’m not gonna have to dress up like an elf or reindeer, am I? _

_ Wellll :3c _

Keith was about to tap out a reply when another text popped up.

_ Haha, jk. I promise it’s nothing too weird. _

Pursing his lips, Keith wrote, _ When should I come over? _

\-----

To Keith’s relief, he didn’t have to wear a sexy Santa outfit. In fact, the clothes Lance handed Keith before pushing him towards the bathroom to change were downright normal. 

The first article of clothing was a sweater, cream white and soft to the touch. When Keith slipped it on, it fell down to mid-thigh and the sleeves were long enough to cover his palms. It had a wide neckline that purposefully fell off of one shoulder to reveal his collarbone.

The second article of clothing was a pair of black booty shorts which weren’t even visible underneath the sweater, giving the impression that he wasn’t wearing anything else. All in all, it was definitely the most comfortable outfit Keith had ever worn for a shoot.

After double checking his makeup, Keith walked down the hall and into the studio. The set looked straight out of a Christmas card, with a fake fireplace, a tree covered in decorations, and several brightly colored presents. Lance was adjusting the placement of said presents when he noticed Keith pad closer. His face lit up brighter than the lights on the tree.

“You look adorable,” he grinned.

“Thanks,” Keith said, his cheeks turning a bit pink. “I wasn’t sure what to do with my hair.”

Lance regarded him with a thoughtful hum.

“We’re going for sort of a domestic, sexy look, so let’s just mess it up a little.”

Keith stood still as Lance reached out to tussle his hair. It must have been harder than he thought to get it just right, because Lance kept running his fingers through Keith’s locks, pushing the strands this way and that until he was satisfied. It felt kind of nice.

“There,” Lance finally said, tucking one last strand behind Keith’s ear.

All at once, Keith became aware of just how close they were standing. Lance seemed to realize it too, and stepped back with a slight blush.

Keith cleared his throat. “So what’s the plan?” 

“I thought of two ideas for your pinup. I figured we could do both and pick whichever one turns out best,” Lance said. “Then the second one will be an extra for anyone that buys the whole album.”

“Alright,” Keith nodded. “What’s first then?”

“First,” Lance grinned and held up a large spool of ribbon, “I’m gonna wrap you up like a present.”

He directed Keith to sit on the floor by the tree. Bending his leg, Lance began to bind Keith’s thigh and shin together in what he called a frog tie. The ribbon itself was about two inches wide and made of a silky red material that shone in the light. Lance completed the tie with a large bow on the outer side of Keith’s leg, then gave his other leg the same treatment.

While Lance got up to fetch more ribbon, Keith tested out his new bonds. Though the ribbon wasn’t particularly strong, Lance had wrapped it around enough times that the binding remained tight despite Keith’s best efforts to straighten out his leg. The familiar heat of arousal curled low in his stomach.

Upon his return, Lance helped Keith tuck his legs underneath himself so he could sit upright, then took Keith’s hands. Keith watched in fascination as the other man looped more ribbon around his wrists over the sweater’s long sleeves. Lance’s grasp was gentle but firm. After several layers, he tied another bow and looked up to meet Keith’s gaze with a smile.

“So far, so good?”

“Yeah,” Keith said. “Is that it?”

“Oho,” Lance’s lips curled up into a sly smirk. “You want more?”

The rush of heat to Keith’s face was only slightly abated by Lance’s bright laughter. 

“I’m just teasing,” Lance said. “We’re not quite done yet.”

“Oh,” Keith glanced away to try to maintain some of his dignity. “Okay.”

Lance grabbed yet another spool of ribbon, this one wider than the others. Directing Keith to lay his bound wrists on his lap, Lance proceeded to wrap the scarlet cloth around Keith’s waist, pinning his arms to the front of his body. By the time Lance finished, the spool was empty, and the photographer used the ends to tie an enormous bow at the small of Keith’s back.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself,” Lance mused, fiddling with the bow.

Keith squirmed in place. The area the ribbon covered was only a handful of inches high, but immobilized him quite well. Keith couldn’t lift his arms at all, nor could he pull them apart.

“Okay, ready?” Lance moved to stand up. 

“You’re not gonna gag me?”

Lance paused. “Do you want me to?”

Keith’s face felt like it was on fire again, but he nodded. Thankfully, Lance didn’t tease him and merely grabbed the spool left over from binding Keith’s wrists.

“You want a stuffed gag or no?” Lance asked. “It won’t make much difference to the viewers, so it’s up to you.”

Swallowing, Keith gave another small nod. Lance retrieved a handkerchief and rolled it into a ball before holding it up. Keith allowed him to push it inside his mouth. Lance then covered Keith’s lips with the ribbon and began to wrap it around and around Keith’s head, though he made sure to lift his dark hair out of the way so it could fall over the gag once Lance tied it off.

“How’s that?”

“Hmmph gmph,” Keith replied happily.

“Good,” Lance chuckled. “Let’s get started.”

Keith fought down a shiver as large, warm hands guided him into a new pose. Lance angled one of Keith’s legs up so he was placing most of his weight on the other, spine arching in order to keep his balance. Lance stepped back and aimed the camera from the side, forcing Keith to twist his body slightly and turn his head to glance up through his eyelashes. 

“Give me a sultry look. Yeah, just like that,” Lance said as the shutter clicked. “You’re the best present a guy could ask for, and you know it.”

“Mmmhnn,” Keith agreed.

“Perfect,” Lance said after a few more shots. “Okay, let’s try a different pose.” He smirked. “And a little something else too.”

“Mmph?” Keith blinked curiously as Lance kneeled down behind him. Suddenly, a strip of red silk fell over his eyes. “Mmph!”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Lance chuckled, his low voice right next to Keith’s ear. “Is this okay?”

Repressing another shudder, Keith nodded. The light filtering through the cloth grew dimmer with every new layer that wrapped around Keith’s head until all he could see was darkness. Lance tied the ribbon off with a little tug that sent a warm jolt straight to Keith’s groin.

“I’m gonna lay you down on the floor now, okay?”

Keith nodded again. Strong arms gently lowered Keith onto his side, and one of those warm hands grasped Keith’s knee to guide his leg up toward his chest, while his other leg remained where it was. It suddenly occurred to Keith that while the frog tie kept his legs bent, it didn’t keep them from being able to spread apart, and he had to slam a lid on that line of thought before he did something so embarrassing he’d never be able to look Lance in the eyes ever again.

Keith felt little tugs on his sweater and hair as Lance presumably adjusted them. The warmth drew away.

“Okay, stay just like that,” Lance said. Keith heard the click of the camera. “Great. Alright, now you can move around if you want.”

Slowly, Keith began to move. The muscles in his calves and thighs ached pleasantly as he strained against the ribbons binding them together, and a soft moan began to build in his throat. Struggling against his bonds, Keith could feel the soft sweater fall further off his shoulder, no doubt putting more skin on display, but he was powerless to do anything about it. 

The frog tie did its job. Keith couldn’t get his legs back under him to sit up. He rolled onto his back, spine arching as he scrabbled to find a purchase. When that didn’t work, Keith rolled over onto his stomach instead, but still couldn’t do it. Finally, he rolled back onto his side with a muffled huff.

“Having fun?” Lance’s voice cut through the haze.

Keith didn’t jump, but it was a near thing. Somehow he’d become so focused on trying to get free that Keith had almost forgotten where he was. He could only hope the gag and blindfold hid his embarrassment.

“Mmmph,” he said.

“I think that’s more than enough material for this shot,” Lance said. “Shall we move on to the next one?”

Keith nodded. Part of him wanted to play with this position forever, but another part was eager to see what Lance had planned next.

Lance helped him to sit back up and began the long process of unwinding the ribbons. Once he was free, Keith took the water bottle Lance offered with a grateful smile.

“Do I need to change clothes?” he asked.

Lance shook his head. “Nah, the outfit stays the same. I’m just gonna tie you up differently.”

“Oh?”

“The next pose is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while,” Lance said. “I know you’re still fairly new to bondage, and suspension is probably too advanced for you, but how would you feel about something that’s a step in that direction?”

Keith considered it. He had come across suspension in his research, and seen pictures of people tied up so they hung in the air. While not something he immediately felt the urge to try, Keith could admit he was a little intrigued.

“I’ll give it a shot,” he finally said.

Grinning, Lance explained his idea. Once Keith agreed, he grabbed a coil of thin, dark green rope and started to wrap it around Keith’s torso to create a kind of harness.

“The color is so it will blend in with the Christmas lights,” Lance explained. “The lights themselves aren’t strong enough, plus they’re not very comfortable.”

Keith nodded, twisting his body curiously when the harness was complete. The rope criss-crossed over the white sweater in a diamond-like pattern, and felt snug without restricting his breathing. 

Next, Lance ordered Keith to place his arms behind his back. He used more rope to bind Keith’s wrists together so that his forearms rested parallel to each other at the small of his back. 

“Feel pretty secure?” Lance asked.

“Uh huh,” Keith said. He wriggled his arms, arousal returning when the restraints didn’t budge.

Lance grabbed another length of rope. He tossed it over one of the rafters on the ceiling, then looped the ends through the back of Keith’s harness. 

“How’s that?” Lance asked. “Do you need more slack?”

Keith tested the rope. It was long enough that both of his feet were still flat on the ground, but short enough that he couldn’t really move anywhere else.

“I think it’s good?” he said tentatively.

“Awesome,” Lance grinned. “Let me know if it starts to feel too uncomfortable or if it hurts anywhere.”

“Okay.”

“Ready for the next step?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded.

Lance kneeled in front of him. Keith watched as he tied another green rope around one of his knees, trying not to blush when Lance’s fingers brushed the inside of his thigh. Once the smaller harness was complete, Lance gathered the remaining ends of the rope and tossed them over the rafters, then caught them again and slowly pulled. Keith’s leg lifted up until his knee was level with his waist. It almost looked like he was in the middle of a dance.

“Is this height okay?” Lance asked. “I can make it lower if you want.”

“This is fine,” Keith said.

Satisfied, Lance tied the ends around Keith’s leg just above his knee, adding support and making the rope taut.

“Take a minute to get used to the position,” he said. “I’ll grab the lights.”

As Lance walked over to rummage through a large box, Keith examined his new pose. At first he had been worried about having to stand on one leg, but the rope harness around his torso and the one suspending his leg in the air were surprisingly sturdy, and held him in place if he started to tilt in any direction.

He was also thankful for the sweater. It created a soft barrier between his skin and the rope, and was long enough to cover his groin even with one leg in the air, though he suspected the booty shorts peeked out.

Lance returned with the longest string of Christmas lights Keith had ever seen. Wordlessly, the photographer began to loop the string over the green rope to give the illusion that they were the only thing binding Keith. When he was finally done, Lance plugged the end into a nearby socket. 

Dozens of tiny, multi-colored lights lit up. They shone softly against Keith’s pale skin, and contrasted nicely against the cream colored sweater. Keith twisted this way and that, oddly fascinated by the effect.

“And now for the final touch,” Lance said.

He came over with two items. One was a Santa Claus hat that he placed on Keith’s head, tugging the fluffy white trim so it sat at an angle and fixing the floppy part so the puffball on the end hung by Keith’s ear.

The second item was a bit gag made to look like a large candy cane.

“Open up,” Lance smirked.

Keith rolled his eyes, but obediently parted his lips so Lance could slip the rubber bar between his teeth. After buckling it behind Keith’s head, Lance stepped back to run a critical eye over Keith from head to toe.

“I think that about does it,” he said. “Still feeling alright?”

“Mmhm,” Keith said around the gag.

Grabbing his camera, Lance began to take pictures. Trussed up as he was, there wasn’t much Keith could do besides change his facial expression, so he focussed instead on the bonds that held him in place. The tightness of the ropes was strangely grounding, pressing upon his skin without digging into it. Keith discovered that the harness was able to hold his weight, so he just kind of...relaxed. His mind soon melted into that pleasant space as he squirmed deliciously against his bonds, the candy cane gag muffling any little sighs or moans that escaped.

“Okay, that’s a wrap,” Lance said. “Man, it’s gonna be tough to decide which photo to use. They both turned out great!”

He came over to untie Keith, starting with his leg. Finally able to place his foot back on the floor, Keith felt relief when strain he hadn’t even been aware of started to fade away.

“You’re doing amazing, by the way,” Lance added while he worked on the knots around Keith’s wrists. “The last few photosets you did are already some of our best sellers, and I’m sure this one will draw in even more viewers.”

“Hts ghh,” Keith said.

“Oh, sorry,” Lance said with a snort. “I should probably wait until you can talk to start a conversation, huh?”

“Hnnf,” Keith shrugged.

Lance unbuckled the gag and pulled it from Keith’s lips.

“Thanks,” Keith said.

Lance smiled and returned to untying him.

Once Keith was free, he followed Lance to the couch for aftercare. Lance hesitated.

“Do you want me to massage your torso too?” he asked. “I can stick to your arms and legs if that makes you more comfortable.”

“Oh,” a small blush rose to Keith’s cheeks. “Um, I don’t mind if you just do my back.”

“Okay.”

He started on Keith’s legs, even working lotion into the one that hadn’t been bound, then moved to Keith’s arms and wrists. After that, Keith turned around and pulled off the sweater. As Lance began to knead his back, Keith told himself not to feel self conscious. After all, this was hardly the first time he’d been mostly naked in front of Lance. Hell, he’d been mostly naked on the internet for anyone to see. And Lance was a professional, so it wasn’t weird. Right?

Keith took a breath and tried to will away the fluttering in his stomach. It didn’t help that Lance’s hands felt magical, as usual. Keith wondered if he ever trained as a masseuse. 

The blissful torture finally came to an end. Keith changed back into his clothes and returned to the studio to tell Lance goodbye.

“Before you go, I, uh, actually have something I want to give you,” Lance said.

“For me?” Keith blinked. “Like a Christmas present? Shit, I didn’t get you anything.”

Lance waved his concern away. “Don’t sweat it, man. I mean, technically it’s not really for you, but um, well, I saw this in the store the other day and it reminded me of when we were talking about comic books and you said Bucky is your favorite character, and I just had to buy it. I don’t have any pets, but I thought Kosmo might like it?”

He handed Keith a plushie of a cartoonish looking Winter Soldier. Keith gave the toy a little squeeze and it let out a high pitched squeak.

“So you thought I might like to watch my dog mercilessly tear apart my favorite character?”

Glancing up, Keith burst out laughing at Lance’s dismayed expression.

“I’m just kidding,” he assured him. “I love it, and I’m sure Kosmo will too. He’s very gentle with his toys.”

“Oh, good,” Lance said, relieved. 

They chatted a bit more before saying goodbye. When he got home, Keith found the pleasantly warm feeling in his chest was still there, and had to distract himself by giving Kosmo his present.

It worked a little too well. Kosmo loved his new toy so much he proceeded to drive Keith insane by squeaking it in his jaws nonstop for half an hour. Keith nearly took it away, but he was weak against Kosmo’s puppy dog eyes, and so resigned himself to his fate.

Later that night, Keith found his pet curled up on the sofa asleep with the Bucky plushie tucked between his paws. He immediately whipped out his phone to take a picture and sent it to Lance. When he received a reply comprised of nothing but exclamation marks, Keith’s smile grew.

And so did the warm feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope y’all have a good holiday season! (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
> 
> If anyone’s curious, there’s a lovely piece of artwork that inspired the first photo in this chapter. It’s not of Keith (I think the character is the artist’s OC) but it is one of my favorites. Just look up Christmas Card by SanePerson on DeviantArt to check it out.
> 
> You might have also noticed I've added chapter titles. This is purely for convenience in case anyone ever wants to find or skip to a particular theme or cosplay since I have a feeling this fic is gonna turn out longer than originally planned (but what else is new lmao). The titles themselves are not very creative, so if anyone has suggestions for clever wordplay I'm all ears.
> 
> See you next time! (๑¯◡¯๑)


	4. Housewife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a gift for Methoxyethane. Happy birthday, Eileen! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Since they texted each other pretty regularly these days, Keith was surprised one morning to find an email from Lance.

_ Hey, Keith! _

_ We got a commission that specifically asked for you to be the model. Wanted to see if you were interested before I accept or reject it. Details below! :) _

_ Lance _

Curious, Keith scanned the information. Seeing that it did indeed request him gave Keith an odd mixture of pride and embarrassment. It didn’t look like they wanted anything weird or gross, so Keith sent Lance a reply that he would do it.

A few days later, Keith found himself in Lance’s now familiar bathroom with a stack of clothes. First he slipped on the panties. They weren’t skimpy or anything, but they did have a cute lace trim around the edges. 

Next, he pulled on the dress. It was deep red and looked a little old fashioned, like what a housewife might wear on a black and white TV show. According to Lance, the style was called “rockabilly,” though that didn’t mean much to Keith. All he knew was that he liked it. The bosom dipped into a low v to reveal an inner layer of black fabric covered in white polka dots, and two more sections slit down the sides of the skirt to reveal more of the polka dotted layer. The skirt itself flared out from a trim waist, giving Keith’s figure a slightly more feminine shape.

Once he was done twisting his hips to watch the skirt swish back and forth, Keith grabbed the apron. It was only the bottom half, so he tied it around his waist, pleased to note that the black and white polka dots matched the ones on the dress. 

Keith completed the ensemble with a pearl string necklace, which was so long he had to loop it twice for the pearls to rest against his collarbone, and a polka dotted silk scarf that wrapped around his hair like a headband.

Satisfied with his costume, Keith picked up his foundation. Usually he wore light makeup for modeling, but today was different. With a tutorial open on his phone to check periodically, Keith applied blush, eyeliner, mascara, and ruby red lipstick. It took some trial and error, but in the end, he was pleased with the results of his labor. The eyeliner in particular made his violet eyes pop. 

Finally, Keith grabbed a small bottle of red nail polish. Painting his fingernails wasn’t a new experience, but Keith had never painted his toenails before. It felt slightly awkward at first, especially with the skirt making it hard to bend his knee up high enough to reach his foot, but before long both Keith’s fingers and toes all matched his dress. Keith waited a few minutes for them to dry before pulling on a pair of thigh-high nylon stockings and shiny, black high heels.

Keith checked his reflection once more, then walked out of the bathroom. However, he was surprised to find Lance setting up equipment in the kitchen rather than the studio.

“Seemed silly to make a whole set when we can just use an actual kitchen,” Lance shrugged. “You ready to start?”

“Yeah,” Keith said.

Lance ushered him over to the island counter where a handful of bowls with baking ingredients waited, along with a bigger bowl already filled with some kind of batter.

“For the first few shots, you’ll be baking a cake,” Lance said. “Your husband’s been stressed from working overtime lately, so you want to surprise him with a treat.”

“Right.” Keith looked down at the selection of powders, grains, and fruits, then back up at Lance. “I, uh, don’t actually know how to bake a cake.”

Lance flapped a hand at him. “Just fake it.”

“Okay...”

Brows pinched together, Keith grabbed the nearest bowl. It appeared to contain sugar, so Keith scooped a bit into the large mixing bowl. Next, he poured some flour into the batter. After some stirring, the batter started to look less like frosting and more like dough, so maybe he was on the right track?

The sounds of the camera shutter faded away as Keith worked. He was grateful for the scarf that held his hair out of his face, though one particularly stubborn strand kept falling into his eyes. Keith pushed it back with a huff, then froze when he realized he had smeared flour across his cheek. He moved to wipe it off.

“Leave it,” Lance said. “It’s cute.”

A blush rose up Keith’s face and he obediently lowered his hand. He quickly tried to distract himself by beating the batter as hard as he could.

“Okay, time for phase two,” Lance said. “Your husband has finally come home to find you hard at work. He’s eager to try your cooking, but you decide you want to give him something else to taste instead.” A sly smirk spread across Lance’s lips. “Let’s get a little messy.”

Under Lance’s direction, Keith dipped a finger into the batter. Staring at the lens through hooded eyes, Keith brought the batter to his lips, letting his tongue flick out for a kitten lick before placing his fingertip in his mouth. Keith was glad to find it didn’t taste terrible.

Next, Lance retrieved a can of whipped cream from the fridge and gave it to Keith, who sprayed a thin line along his collarbone, tilting his head invitingly so that his neck was on full display. While trying to give the camera a look that said, “please eat me,” an image suddenly popped into Keith’s head of a cake-eating vampire. He wasn’t quite able to push the thought away before a snort escaped his nose.

“What’s so funny?” Lance asked.

Keith told him and Lance snickered. “That might not be a bad idea for a shoot. Well, the vampire part anyway.”

They shared another chuckle. Keith shook away his mirth and tried to slip back into character. Picking up a strawberry from one of the bowls, Keith pressed it to his lips in a playful kiss and batted his eyelashes.

“Perfect,” Lance said. “So, now that your husband has given in to your seduction, he proceeds to ravish you. But being the tease you are, you don’t make it easy for him. He has to earn it.”

“Damn straight,” Keith said. He was rewarded with a bark of laughter.

Over the course of the next few shots, Keith lost more and more clothing. First went the high heels. Keith sat on a clear space on the counter and Lance’s hand reached into the frame to slip Keith’s shoes off like a reverse Cinderella. Next came the stockings, slowly peeled down to reveal pale skin and bright red toenails. Keith hopped down and faced away from the camera. Looking over his shoulder with a haughty pout, he playfully tugged the strings of the apron loose until it fell to the floor.

“Okay, now comes the fun part,” Lance grinned. “You’ve successfully driven your husband mad with lust. He has no choice but to tie you up and teach you a lesson.”

Keith returned the grin. “No choice indeed.”

Lance instructed Keith to sit on the floor in front of the kitchen island. Grabbing the discarded stockings, he used one to bind Keith’s ankles together and tied the other just above his knees. Keith moved his legs curiously. The nylon was soft and stretchy, but Lance had wrapped it around and between Keith’s legs enough times that there wasn’t much give. 

When Lance removed Keith’s head scarf, Keith smirked and said, “I had a feeling that would come into play.”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Lance winked. 

Keith opened his mouth so Lance could slip the scarf between his teeth. The silky fabric pressed down against his tongue, and Keith’s breath hitched when Lance knotted it tightly behind his head.

“That feel okay?”

“Mmhmph,” Keith said.

“Great. Arms now, please.”

Keith obediently held out his hands, hiding a shudder when Lance's fingers brushed the back of his neck to unclasp the necklace. He looped the long string of pearls around Keith's wrists a couple of times, then guided Keith’s arms over his head and attached the remaining length to one of the counter’s closet handles.

“Don’t tug too hard on that,” Lance warned. “I don’t know how strong it is, and I’d rather not have to hunt for a million tiny pearls if they scatter everywhere.”

“Mmph,” Keith nodded.

“Alright, one last touch. And this was a special request by the commissioner.”

Lance kneeled in front of Keith with a spool of red twine. Very carefully, he looped the twine around each of Keith’s big toes, binding them together.

“How’s that? Not too tight?”

Keith wiggled his toes experimentally. The sensation was a bit odd, but not unpleasant. Try as he might, Keith couldn’t pull his feet apart. His toes curled and flexed, the arch of his sole straightened, he even tried pointing his toes like a ballerina, but it was no use. His feet were bound just as securely as his legs, if not more so.

“Mmmmh,” Keith whined in frustration.

The shutter clicked as Lance took several close-ups of Keith’s struggling feet. He took a step back and snapped more shots of Keith’s face and body from different angles. 

Mindful of Lance’s words, Keith focused more on his legs than his arms. When he tried to bring his knees closer to his chest, the skirt rode up to reveal a flash of panties. Blushing, Keith shifted his weight onto one hip and curled his legs to the side so they were partly tucked underneath him. 

“My, what a proper young lady,” Lance teased. “But that’s not really what we’re going for, is it? You’re still trying to seduce your man, after all.”

Rolling his eyes, Keith squirmed pointedly. He couldn’t separate his legs even if he wanted to, the nylon and twine were too strong. He did, however, wriggle around so the skirt revealed a bit more leg.

“Better.”

_ Click click click. _

“Oh, I just had a great idea!” Lance said. “We should totally take advantage of that lipstick you’re wearing! Your husband’s probably got some on his lips from kissing you, right? So there should be kiss marks all over you.”

Keith’s eyes widened. Kiss marks? How would they do that? Someone would have to kiss him, right? Was Lance going to…

“Ah ha!” Lance shouted from another room. In his crisis, Keith didn’t even notice him leave the studio. Lance came back with the tube of red lipstick Keith used earlier and what appeared to be a stamp. 

“I knew I had one of these laying around,” Lance held out the stamp to show it was shaped like a pair of lips. “This will make things easy.”

Oh.

As Lance pressed kiss marks to Keith’s cheek, neck, and collarbone, Keith ignored the hollow twinge in his gut. This was for the best. Keith didn’t know what he would have done if Lance used his actual mouth for the job, painting Keith’s skin with his lips for the sake of art, marking him for all to see as if Keith belonged to him.

“There, that should do it,” Lance leaned back on his heels and smiled at Keith. “You okay? You look a bit flushed.”

Keith swallowed and quickly shook his head. “Hmmh fhn.”

“Okay, if you say so,” Lance replied. “Let me know if you need a break.”

Keith nodded. Not wanting to think about Lance’s lips or how they might feel on his skin, he threw himself back into the scene. Keith shot a pleading look up at the camera while he struggled in place, begging his nonexistent husband for mercy even though they both knew he secretly loved it.

After a few more pictures of Keith looking thoroughly debauched, Lance said they could move on. Keith couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed as Lance untied him. He was having fun.

“After your husband has had his fill teasing you, he finally agrees to let you go you on one condition,” Lance said. 

Hands now free, Keith pulled the scarf from his mouth. “What’s that?”

Lance grinned.

Fifteen minutes later, Keith stood behind the counter, once again pretending to bake a cake. Gone was the rockabilly dress, replaced by a new, full-length apron that was pale pink and covered with frills and white lace. Keith wasn’t completely nude underneath. He still wore the panties, not that the camera could see them behind the pink fabric, and the pearl necklace was back to its original place, along with the polka dot scarf to keep his hair out of the way.

Keith was glad he only had to act like he was baking. The process was not made any easier by the leather handcuffs that bound his wrists together, though the chain was long enough to grant a decent amount of mobility. Another pair of cuffs connected his ankles and a red ball gag muffled his curses as Keith spilled more flour.

“Having trouble?” Lance asked.

“Hmmnphh,” Keith said with a pout.

“We’re almost done,” Lance assured him. “Why don’t you take a break while I set up the last scene?”

He removed the ball gag and helped Keith shuffle over to a chair. Sipping water, Keith watched Lance clean up the kitchen island. When Lance turned to Keith and patted the counter, Keith walked back and tried to hop up onto it, but had difficulty due to the cuffs still around his ankles. 

Lance frowned. “Hmm.”

His calculating gaze moved back and forth between Keith and the counter. At first, Keith thought he was going to take off the cuffs, but instead he directed Keith to loop his arms over Lance’s head and place his hands on Lance’s shoulders. Puzzled, Keith obeyed, only to squeak in surprise when two large hands grabbed his waist and lifted him into the air. 

Lance set Keith down on the counter and offered a sheepish look.

“Sorry,” he said. “Probably should have given you more warning, huh?”

“It-” Keith’s voice cracked. Flushing, he cleared his throat and tried again. “It’s okay.”

Lance smiled and walked over to the fridge. While he rummaged around, Keith tried to will his heart to stop beating so quickly. He peeked at Lance out of the corner of his eye. Who knew there was so much strength in that lanky body? If Lance could pick him up like it was nothing, what else was he capable of? Could he pin Keith? Manhandle him?

This was not helping Keith’s poor heart.

Thankfully, Lance soon returned and Keith was distracted from his traitorous thoughts by the large cake in his hands. It was covered in white frosting with a red trim, and several strawberries were dotted along the edge. Just looking at it made Keith’s mouth water.

“Impressive, right?” Lance grinned. “My friend Hunk made it. He’s also the one who builds my sets.”

“Sounds like a man of many talents,” Keith said.

“He is,” Lance agreed. 

He gave Keith the cake to hold on his lap. Keith opened his mouth to wear the ball gag again and posed prettily for the camera. Lance took a few shots. He then replaced the chain connecting Keith’s ankles with one that was much longer. He helped Keith turn so he could lay across the counter on his back, one leg bent with his foot flat on the surface and the other raised in the air, toes pointed. Keith’s bound hands reached out to caress his elevated leg like an old fashioned pinup girl. The cake was strategically placed on the counter to obscure Keith’s groin from the angle of the camera, or more specifically, to hide his lack of nudity beneath the apron.

For the final shot, Lance cut a piece of cake. He helped Keith sit up again and handed him the plate and a fork. Shooting the camera coy glances from beneath his lashes, Keith held out the fork to offer a bite to his imaginary husband.

Keith expected the clicks of the shutter. What he didn’t expect was Lance to then lower his camera and swoop in to steal the chunk of cake.

“Mm,” Lance hummed, licking his lips. “Delicious.”

Bright red, Keith let out an indignant, “Mmph!”

Lance quickly took another picture.

“What’s the matter?” he laughed. “Did you want some too?”

“Hmnphnf,” Keith answered with a glare.

As Lance continued to take several shots, Keith seriously considered throwing the cake at his stupid, smirking face.

“Okay, okay,” Lance chuckled. “Let’s untie you so you can eat some well earned dessert.”

He removed the cuffs and gag so Keith could change back into his clothes, then ushered Keith into the living room for cake and aftercare. Keith sank happily into the plush cushions of Lance’s couch, feet propped on the photographers lap while Lance kneaded the tendons in his ankles.

“You really don’t have to do that,” Keith said, biting back a sigh as strong fingers dug into the arch of his foot. 

Lance shrugged. “I don’t mind. You worked hard today, and I did tie your toes together. They deserve pampering too.”

He emphasized his point with a little squeeze to Keith’s pinky toe. Keith snorted, but wasn’t about to turn down a free foot massage so he instead took a bite of cake. It was just as good as it looked, and Keith had to suppress another moan.

The minutes passed in companionable silence. Keith finished his dessert and let his eyes fall shut as Lance moved on to the other foot. He really was being quite thorough. Keith idly wondered if he did this for all the models.

He was on the verge of dozing off when Lance’s voice cut through the fog.

“So I’ve been meaning to ask,” Lance said, “is there anyone you wanna be for a shoot?”

Keith blinked, forcefully dragging himself back to consciousness. “Huh?”

“Well, so far all your roles have been decided by commissions or myself,” Lance said, rolling one of Keith’s toes between his fingers, “but if there’s a character  _ you’d _ like to cosplay, we can probably work something out.”

“I, uh, never really thought about it,” Keith replied. Lance’s ministrations were very distracting. “Umm, can it be anyone?”

“Pretty much.” 

Keith considered it for a moment. “I like The Legend of Zelda.”

“Ooh!” Lance turned to Keith with excited eyes. “You’d make a great Link! Or Zelda. Oh, or Sheik! So many possibilities,” he hummed gleefully.

Keith returned the smile. “If I was Link, which Link would I be?”

“Hmmm,” Lance looked up at the ceiling in thought. “My favorite is Wind Waker Link, but he obviously wouldn’t work.”

Keith nodded. Link was a child in Wind Waker, and also one of the hero’s goofier incarnations, so both his age and aesthetic would be inappropriate.

“I like Twilight Princess Link the best,” he offered.

Lance snorted. “Of course you do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Keith asked with a frown.

“Just that Twilight Princess Link is a feral wolf boy who shops at Hot Topic,” Lance said breezily. “So yeah, not a surprise that he’s your favorite.”

“Lies and slander,” Keith shot back. He pulled his feet out of Lance’s lap to cross his legs so he could lean forward and get in Lance’s face. “Twilight Princess Link is a soft boy who loves animals.”

“He loves animals because he is one,” Lance scoffed. “And the softest boy is obviously Skyward Sword Link, who is a beautiful cinnamon roll, too pure for this world.”

They continued to argue over who was the best Link, which somehow devolved into a heated debate on which Link would win in a fight, followed by which one had the best gear, the best companion, the best character development, and so on and so forth. By the time they were done, Keith’s face and sides hurt from laughing so much.

“Okay, okay,” Lance said, still trying to contain his own giggling. “So we agree. Majora’s Mask Link has the best powers, and is therefore the strongest Link. Midna is the best companion, and Groose is the best supporting character. And, most importantly, Breath of the Wild Link has the best fashion.”

“Yes,” Keith said, “but that last one feels a bit unfair since it’s the only game where Link wears multiple costumes besides Triforce Heroes.”

“Yeah, well, Majora’s Mask Link is the only one who gets to transform into different magical races, so…” Lance shrugged. “Oh, and Hyrule Warriors Link is the handsomest.”

“Hyrule Warriors isn’t canon,” Keith said. “He doesn’t count.”

Lance gasped dramatically. “You take that back.”

“I will not.”

“Take it back!”

Keith let out a squeak when Lance suddenly tackled him. His back hit the couch cushions and Keith flailed his arms to combat Lance’s wiggling fingers.

“Lance!” he screeched. “Cut it-haha-cut it out!”

“Not until you accept Hyrule Warriors Link as one of the Links!” Lance said. “Say it!”

He mercilessly tickled Keith’s sides until Keith finally shouted, “Okay! He counts! He counts!”

“Good,” Lance smirked.

Finally able to catch his breath, Keith slowly became aware of the position they were in. Lance hovered over him, his knees straddling Keith’s hips. His left hand held one of Keith’s wrists, pinning it to the couch above Keith’s head, while Lance’s right hand hovered in the air as though unsure what to do now that the tickling had stopped. 

Lance’s grin slipped away as he too seemed to realize the situation. In an instant, he let go of Keith and jumped off of him, his face bright red. Keith sat up at a more sedate speed, still trying to process what had just happened.

“So, uh,” Lance cleared his throat. “I think I have some good ideas for a Zelda-themed photoshoot. It’ll take a while to get the set and costume ready, so there might be another shoot or two beforehand, but I’ll keep you posted.”

“Okay.”

Still not looking at him, Lance bustled around the kitchen in search of tupperware so Keith could take a piece of cake home, then escorted Keith to the door. When Lance handed him the cake, their fingers brushed, and those blue eyes finally met Keith's gaze.

"Sorry," Lance said. He pulled away and brought one hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Uh, drive safe."

"I will."

"I'll let you know if we get another job."

"Okay."

They stood in awkward silence for a moment until Keith finally turned to walk down the front steps. 

"Well, bye," he said.

"Bye," Lance replied. 

Keith started to walk down the street, then turned back.

“Are we...okay?” he asked.

A look of surprise crossed Lance’s face before softening into a smile.

“Of course we are,” Lance replied. “Text me when you get home so I know you made it back safely.”

The little ball of tension in Keith’s gut uncoiled. “Will do.”

With one last little wave, Keith got into his car and drove away. As he passed streetlights and buildings, and watched the sun begin to set in the distance, Keith's lips curled into a smile, soft and shy and just the tiniest bit hopeful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m with Lance. SS Link > TP Link. BotW Link is my favorite though, lol. 
> 
> This story is starting to grow plot and feelings. But hey, that’s what y’all are here for, right? Fluff, feels, and bondage? (๑˃̵ᴗ˂)
> 
> Once again, a very happy birthday to my dear friend Eileen. ♡〜٩( ˃́▿˂̀ )۶〜♡ I hope you liked this chapter! 
> 
> If ya’ll haven’t already, go check out her stuff (AO3 handle is Methoxyethane) She’s an amazing writer and artist!
> 
> See you next time!


	5. Interlude I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING in this chapter for elements of dubious consent. For a more detailed warning, please see the end notes. If you would like to avoid the dubcon stuff altogether, just skip past the first part of the chapter that’s in all italics.
> 
> Enjoy! ❀(*´◡`*)❀

_ “Hmmnh,” Keith moaned softly. _

_ He sat on the bed wearing nothing but a white button-down shirt that was slightly too big for him, its tantalizing length just long enough to preserve his modesty, but short enough to display his bare legs. Shiny, black tape was wrapped around Keith’s wrists to keep them bound together in front of him, while another strip covered his lips, sealing a balled up piece of cloth inside his mouth. _

_ “That’s it.” Click, click, click. “Just like that.” _

_ With another sigh, Keith languidly struggled against his bonds. The tape was tight, and the many layers made it impossible to tear with strength alone. Keith was completely and utterly helpless. _

_ And he loved it. _

_ “Enjoying yourself?” _

_ “Mmhmmh,” Keith replied. _

_ “Good. Ready to move on?” _

_ Keith nodded, excited to see what was next. He watched in anticipation as Lance locked his camera onto a tripod and walked over to the bed. _

_ “I thought of something that everyone will love. The viewers, you, and me,” Lance said. He reached out to tip Keith’s face up with a finger beneath his chin. “Especially you and me.” _

_ A shiver ran down Keith’s spine. Lance’s blue eyes were so close, so intense, Keith was having trouble forming any sort of coherent thought. _

_ Then the world shifted ninety degrees. _

_ “Mmph?!” _

_ Keith suddenly found himself on his back, a strong hand pinning his bound wrists to the mattress above his head. He instinctively began to struggle, and the hand tightened its grip. _

_ He stared at Lance’s smirking face with wide eyes. _

_ “There,” Lance said. “This is much more exciting, don’t you think?” _

_ Heat rushed up to Keith’s cheeks and down to his dick. He began to writhe beneath Lance, not entirely sure himself whether he was pleading with Lance to let him go or urging him to keep going. _

_ “You want this, don’t you?” Lance asked, his voice sweet like honey against the shell of Keith’s ear. “You don’t have to pretend. I’ve seen the way you look at me.” _

_ “Hhnnnh,” Keith said. He tugged his wrists, but Lance’s grip was like iron. _

_ “Don’t worry, babe,” Lance murmured. “I’m going to take care of you.” _

_ His free hand started to unbutton Keith’s shirt. Lance shuffled down Keith’s body to press his lips to the unveiled skin, kissing and nipping at Keith’s collarbone and down his sternum. A warm, wet tongue playfully teased at one of Keith’s nipples, and Keith arched his spine with a muffled gasp. _

_ Lance pinched and rolled and licked the sensitive nub. Waves of pleasure surged through Keith, and he moaned into his gag, struggling harder to get free though he still didn’t know if he wanted to push Lance away or loop his arms around Lance’s neck to bring him even closer. Neither were an option in the end. Lance pressed Keith’s wrists further into the mattress, thoroughly quelling any hope of escape and shooting another hot spike of arousal to Keith’s groin. _

_ That talented mouth left Keith’s nipple to continue down towards his navel, and Keith couldn’t stop the whine that rose up his throat. _

_ A low chuckle vibrated across Keith’s skin. “Patience.” _

_ Freeing the last of the buttons, Lance’s hand slid along Keith’s bare thigh until it reached the inside of his knee, which Lance hooked over his shoulder so that he could nestle closer in between Keith’s legs. His hand slid back across Keith’s skin to knead his ass, and Keith tipped his head back with another moan. _

_ “Let’s give them a show.” _

Keith’s eyes snapped open. Disoriented, he looked around wildly until he finally recognized the familiar walls of his bedroom. 

Keith fell back into the pillows with a groan. How embarrassing. He hadn’t had a dream like that in years, but he supposed it wasn’t all that surprising with the recent exploration into kinks and whatnot. Those photoshoots always got him pretty riled up, after all.

Speaking of which.

He peeked under the covers and let out another groan. If his subconscious insisted on torturing him, couldn’t it have at least let him finish? Then again, maybe it was for the best. Keith was going to have trouble looking Lance in the eyes as it was. If his dream had gone much further he might not be able to bring himself to face the man for a month.

After a shower to clean up and...relieve himself, Keith ate a quick breakfast, fed and walked Kosmo, then went into his studio. Work, Keith decided, was the perfect distraction to get the mental image of Lance pinning him to the mattress out of his head.

Blinking, Keith gave himself a little shake and refocused on the canvas in front of him. The image was abstract, more shapes and colors than anything, but Keith found it easy to get lost in pouring his emotions into such pieces. It was a large part of why he picked this commission to work on today.

It was a slow start, with Keith’s mind still intruding with little flashes of last night’s dream, but after a while Keith was finally able to sink fully into his art. His mind slipped into that nice blank zone of concentration, nothing but reds and blues and blacks and whites. The familiar smell of paint. The stroke of his brush against the taut fabric to create life where there was once emptiness. The way the pigments clashed and blended in a symphony of color, illuminated by the sunbeams that filtered in through the open window. 

_ Ding dong. _

Keith startled, abruptly pulled back to reality. A glance at his phone told him a little over an hour had passed, but that didn’t explain who could be at his door. None of his friends mentioned any plans today, and he hadn’t ordered anything to be delivered.

Curious, Keith walked down the hall. He gave Kosmo a pat for not barking and opened the door.

“Hey, man,” Lance greeted. When Keith merely stared back at him, Lance rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Uh, sorry for just dropping by. I had a gig a couple blocks away and figured I’d bring you that game we were talking about.”

“Oh,” Keith scrambled to get his brain back online. “Um, that’s really thoughtful of you.”

Lance grinned and dug into his camera bag for the game. Taking it, Keith mustered up a smile. 

“Good timing, I just finished Fire Emblem last night,” Keith said. “Let me go grab it.”

He hurried to the living room to retrieve the game. On the way back, Keith caught sight of his reflection in a mirror and almost died on the spot. He was wearing his work clothes, a black tank top and leggings, both of which were covered in paint spatter. More splotches of paint covered his hands, arms, and face. To top it all off, his hair was a mess. Keith pulled it into a bun earlier to keep it out of the way, but he had a habit of running his fingers through it while he worked, so loose strands fell into his face and stuck out everywhere.

Keith was tempted to try to fix his appearance just a little, but decided against it. He already wasted over a minute staring at his reflection, plus it wasn’t like Lance hadn’t already seen him. And why should he even care what Lance thought? Right?

Nodding to himself, Keith returned to the front door. His resolve that he didn’t like Lance that way crumbled a bit at the sight of Lance crouched down to rub Kosmo’s belly while the dog wriggled happily on the floor. He spotted Keith and stood up with a smile, assuaging Kosmo’s disappointed puppy dog eyes with a pat on the head. 

“Here you go,” Keith said, handing Lance the game. “Thanks again for letting me borrow it. And this one too.”

“No problem, man,” Lance said. “I’m glad you liked it.”

Keith smiled back and they stood in silence for a moment. Lance nodded at Keith’s attire.

“Were you painting? Sorry if I interrupted,” he said.

Keith flushed, once again aware of his messy appearance. “Don’t worry about it. I needed to take a break anyway. That said, I should probably get back to it before my inspiration fades.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll get out of your hair.”

Lance turned to leave, then paused. He turned back.

“Actually,” he said, “I wanted to ask, and you can totally say no, but...could I photograph you?”

Keith blinked. “What? Now?”

“Yeah,” Lance patted his camera bag. “I’ve got all my stuff. It wouldn’t be for Lazuli,” he added when Keith continued to stare blankly. “It would be for my own personal portfolio. The one I use for professional work and artistic endeavors.”

“But...why?” Keith asked, still confused. 

Lance shrugged, a helpless grin on his handsome face. “Like you said, I want to do it before the inspiration fades.”

Inspiration? Keith? A faint blush rose to his cheeks. Keith looked away and gave a tiny nod.

“Okay.”

He led Lance into his studio. Lance let out an appreciative whistle as his gaze roved over the many canvases, some finished, some in progress. Keith sat down in front of his easel and picked up his brush, dipping it into the paint.

With a deep breath to refocus his mind, he swiped a long streak of blue over the canvas to blend with the colors already there.

_ Click. _

Keith jumped, though thankfully the stroke of his brush remained unaffected.

“Sorry,” Lance whispered. “Just try to ignore me.”

Easier said than done. Keith felt hyper-aware of Lance’s presence in the corner of his eye, and the sound of the camera’s shutter while he worked. He thought it was hard to concentrate with his brain conjuring images of Lance, but having real Lance in the same room so soon after that dream was a hundred times worse. 

Keith closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He was being ridiculous. He could panic about this shit later, right now he had a job to do and he didn’t want to let Lance down either. With new determination, Keith threw himself back into the painting. Lance’s movements and the clicking of the camera faded into the background, and Keith’s world narrowed to reds and blues and blacks and whites. After a certain point, Lance’s presence turned into something else. Something almost...comfortable. 

The paint brush swiped across the canvas one last time. With a slow blink, Keith rose out of the haze, and regarded his work with a satisfied smile.

“There,” he said.

He turned to look at Lance, only to find him already staring back at Keith, his face open with awe, and his camera held at chest level like an afterthought.

Keith tilted his head. “Lance?”

His voice seemed to snap Lance back to earth. Lance cleared his throat, cheeks faintly pink as he averted his blue gaze from Keith to the finished painting.

“It looks awesome,” Lance said.

“Thanks.”

Lance’s smile was a work of art itself, warmed by soft, orange light that complimented his dark skin. Keith realized the source was the sun beginning to set over the horizon, and checked the time on his phone.

“Wow, I must have gone really deep into the zone,” he said. “It’s been like, three hours.”

“It has?” Lance pulled his phone out as well. “Damn, I didn’t even notice. Ah well, who am I to deny my muse when inspiration strikes?”

_ He’s talking in a metaphorical sense, _ Keith told himself firmly. _ He’s not calling you his muse. _

“But I should probably head out,” Lance continued, oblivious to Keith’s internal strife. “The longer I wait, the worse traffic will be.”

Keith nodded and walked him to the door.

“Thanks again for letting me take pictures,” Lance said. “I know how nerve wracking it can be to have someone watching you while you create, so I really appreciate it.”

“It was a little weird at first,” Keith admitted, “but I got used to it. Or maybe I’m just used to you taking photos of me,” he added with a teasing smile.

“Well, hopefully that won’t stop any time soon,” Lance said with an answering grin. “But seriously, thanks. Seeing you paint was...an experience.”

“A good experience?” Keith asked.

“Yeah,” Lance’s face softened into a gentle smile. “A good experience.”

They said their goodbyes and promised to text each other soon. Once the door closed, Keith turned around to press his back against it and sink down to the floor, his face still warm and his stomach still fluttering.

Kosmo padded over to poke a curious, wet nose at Keith’s cheek, and Keith drew him closer to hug him around the neck.

“What am I gonna do, Kosmo?” he mumbled into the dog’s thick fur.

Kosmo wagged his tail with a small, “boof.” Keith chuckled, his eyes falling shut.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning details:
> 
> At the beginning of this chapter, Keith has a dream in which Lance takes advantage of him during one of their photoshoots. However, Keith is pretty into it (it is his fantasy, after all) and he wakes up before they get very far. 
> 
> \-----
> 
> Thanks for reading! (๑¯◡¯๑)
> 
> This chapter ended up being a bit short, but I feel like I got everything I wanted out of it. Hopefully the copious amount of fluff and the smutty bit at the beginning makes up for the length, haha.
> 
> Next chapter we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled bondage photoshoots, but with a couple of new elements~
> 
> See you then! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/


	6. Vampire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did somebody order uhhhh Lance POV?

Lance was so fucked.

He thought he had his feelings under control. It wasn’t the first time Lance felt attraction to one of his models, but he always nipped any blossoming crushes in the bud. After all, guys who worked in erotica already had a reputation for being sleazy, which Lance did not want to perpetuate, so while he remained open and friendly with his models Lance kept things strictly professional.

This was work, and the models were technically Lance’s employees, and if there was one thing Lance knew about being a good boss it was to not hit on your employees.

And that was fine. Lance’s business was thriving and he had good relationships with all of the people he worked with, some of whom even became close friends. Sure, success meant Lance had little time for a personal life, but when the reward was being able to hone his craft doing what he loved and making bank from it, he couldn’t complain too much. All in all, Lance’s life was going fantastically.

Then a fateful cancellation resulted in Keith bound and gagged in Lance’s studio.

Lance had had a handful of muses in his life. There was Jenny Shaybon his freshman year of high school. He never worked up the courage to ask her out, but she did light an artistic spark within Lance that eventually led to his love for photography so he would always be thankful for that. His next muse was Allura, though that infatuation crashed and burned pretty quickly when he met her girlfriend Romelle. The three of them were good friends now, and half of the photos in his best portfolio were from that time, so despite the pain Lance was happy it happened.

And then he met Keith.

From the moment they started their preliminary photoshoot to test out their chemistry as model and photographer, Lance knew Keith would be his next muse. He felt the familiar stirring of inspiration in his chest, the need to create, to make art in its purest form. He was attracted to Keith, yes, but that was less important in the face of Lance’s desire to get Keith in front of his camera. A muse wasn’t inherently romantic or sexual, after all. Lance’s determination to keep his relationships with his models professional, as well as his past experience with his last two muses, reigned in any pining Lance might have had before it grew too big.

So he and Keith worked together. Though Keith’s photo sets were fairly vanilla, they still sold well on Lazuli, and Lance’s artistic drive felt sated. He and Keith were even on their way to becoming friends, and Lance was content. 

That all changed when Lance tied Keith up. Despite being one of the sexiest people Lance had ever met, Keith never showed much inclination for attraction towards, well, anything, and Lance never asked because it wasn’t his business. They had a brief conversation early on about if Keith wanted to work with any particular kinks, and Keith had shrugged with an air of indifference, so Lance just had him do generic nudes. This was clearly a mistake.

When Keith was bound and gagged, he came more alive than Lance had ever seen him. Where before he posed with a quiet stillness that had its own seductive appeal, now he writhed and moaned, his aloof untouchability replaced by something else, something more _ real. _

It did wonders for his photos and Lance’s artistic prowess. However, it also opened up a whole new can of worms.

Keith was hot. Lance knew this, of course, but he held his attraction at bay thanks to his sense of professionalism and Keith’s own apparent lack of interest in the sexual. But Keith clearly enjoyed being tied up. Lance could see it in the way his pretty, violet eyes lit up when he saw a rope in Lance’s hands, and the way he became lost in subspace during a shoot.

So yeah. Turned out Keith had a libido after all. One that made Lance’s own libido perk up in interest, despite his best efforts. It didn’t help that while Lance had dabbled in various kinks, bondage was one of his favorites, so of course Keith had to pick that one to get into.

Things were even more complicated now that they were friends. They texted all the time, and Lance found out that not only was Keith gorgeous, but he was also a really good person. Sure, he was awkward and sometimes a little too easy to rile up, but Keith was also cute and funny and he liked video games and motorcycles and he was secretly a giant theater nerd and he loved his dog and okay maybe Lance was not as successful at suppressing this crush as he thought.

“So what are you gonna do?” Hunk asked once Lance was done ranting.

“I don’t know!” Lance threw up his hands. “That’s the whole problem!”

“Well, do you think Keith returns your feelings?”

“Maybe?” Lance bit his lip. “Sometimes during a shoot he’ll give me this look, or he’ll respond to my touch in a certain way that makes me think there might be something there. But it could just be because he’s in subspace. He can get really into the scene.”

Just thinking about Keith’s eyes, hooded and hazy with arousal, was enough to send a shiver down Lance’s spine.

“Then maybe you should try spending time with him outside of work,” Hunk said. “Flirt a little and see if he responds.”

Lance shook his head. “Even if we’re not at work, I’m still his boss. What if I’m reading him all wrong and flirting makes him super uncomfortable? It would ruin both our working relationship _ and _ our friendship.”

“I dunno, man,” Hunk said. “I think you’re thinking about this too hard.”

“He might think I’m using my position of authority to coerce him,” Lance insisted.

“I mean, from what you’ve told me Keith would probably be into that.”

“Hunk!”

“Okay, okay, sorry,” Hunk laughed. “But seriously, you said you’re friends now, right? Why don’t you just hang out more and see where it takes you? No flirting necessary. Or, if you’re not at that stage yet, you could ask him to model in a nonsexual environment. Something more casual where you could talk.”

Lance’s shoulders slumped. “Uh, funny you should mention that.”

He told Hunk about visiting Keith’s apartment and photographing him paint. It was the strongest flash of inspiration he had ever felt, like a lightning bolt straight to his soul. Lance became lost in the motions of capturing Keith’s image, from the stroke of his brush to the look of concentration in his violet eyes, somehow chillingly intense yet achingly soft. It was one of the most beautiful things Lance had ever witnessed.

When he finally drew out of his reverie, Lance turned to see Hunk staring at him.

“What?” Lance asked.

Hunk placed a compassionate hand on his shoulder.

“Buddy,” he said grimly. “You are so fucked.”

Lance dropped his head down into his hands and sighed.

\-----

_ How would you feel about working with a second model? _

Lance drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited for Keith’s response. After a few moments, his phone lit up.

_ For a bondage shoot or a regular one? _

_ Bondage _

_ I don’t know, _ Keith replied after a brief pause. _ Will they be weirded out that I’m...enjoying it so much? _

_ Definitely not, _ Lance quickly texted back. _ It’s a totally normal response and no one here will judge you for it. That said, if it makes you uncomfortable you can totally say no. _

Another pause, longer than the first. Finally, Keith sent a reply.

_ What’s the commission? _

\-----

“Keith, this is Lotor,” Lance introduced a few days later. “He’s been a model for Lazuli since its inception. Lotor, this is Keith. It’s his first time modeling with a partner, so try to show him the ropes. Uh, no pun intended.”

“Nice to meet you,” Keith said, looking a bit nervous. It was cute.

Lotor ignored his proffered hand and instead reached up to hold Keith’s chin, tilting his face this way and that with a scrutinizing gaze.

Blinking, Keith shot Lance a baffled look from the corner of his eye. Lance shrugged. Lotor was weird.

Finally, Lotor released Keith, who immediately took a step back.

“I suppose you’ll do,” Lotor said. With a toss of his long, white hair he left to change into his costume.

“What the fuck was that?” Keith asked Lance.

“Don’t mind him,” Lance rolled his eyes. “He’s just being bitchy because you beat him in the popularity poll last month. He’ll get over it once the shoot starts and he sees that you’re good at what you do.”

“Oh,” Keith said. “Wait, the what?”

“You didn’t know? Every month Lazuli has a poll on who our viewers’ favorite model is. It usually switches between Lotor and Allura, but last month you won.”

“I...don’t know what to do with this information.”

“Well, while you think about it, go get changed,” Lance said. He handed Keith his costume. “We’ve got a schedule to keep, and being model of the month doesn’t mean you get to be a diva. That’s Lotor’s job.”

Keith snorted, taking the clothes with a smile. While he and Lotor got ready, Lance prepared the set, adjusting the angles of the lights and making sure all the props were in place. Just as he was adding the last few touches, Keith walked back into the studio.

“Hey, Lance, can you give me a hand?” Keith asked. “I can’t get this stupid wig to sit right.”

Lance turned to answer, and froze. Keith always looked pretty, but the dress he wore made him appear downright ethereal. It was pure white with gossamer layers that flowed and whispered around his ankles with every step he took. Silver lace decorated the bodice and hugged his waist like a corset. 

Keith’s lips were pursed into a cute pout as he adjusted the long ebony tresses cascading down his shoulders. The wig matched his natural hair color, but had an elegant wave to it and was long enough to reach the small of his back.

Pulling himself together, Lance went over to help situate it onto Keith’s head properly.

“Thanks,” Keith smiled.

“No problem,” Lance replied, trying not to blush. “The dress fit alright?”

“I think so,” Keith said. “Gotta say, I kinda feel like that girl from The Phantom of the Opera in this nightgown.”

“Well, that story is pretty vampire-esque,” Lance grinned. “So not a bad character to draw inspiration from.”

“I guess.”

They chatted for a bit until Lotor finally emerged. Like Keith, Lotor’s outfit was simple and elegant. He wore a crisp white shirt with a black silk cravat tucked into a wine red waistcoat that complimented his trim hips and broad shoulders. Silver embroidery added flair to the waistcoat’s collar and matched the buttons that ran down the center of Lotor’s chest. His long legs were clad in perfectly pressed black slacks and expensive looking leather shoes. And, of course, a high-collared cape fell from his shoulders all the way down to brush the floor, the exterior black as night with velvet red lining on the inside.

Lotor’s snow white hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that draped over one shoulder, and a long strand curled handsomely in front of his face, highlighting the crimson colored contacts in his eyes. Under Lance and Keith’s stares, he grinned to reveal pointed fangs.

“Shall we get started?” he asked.

Lance nodded. He directed Keith to slip into the bed under the covers and pretend to sleep. After readjusting a few lights, Lance picked up his camera and nodded at Lotor.

As much as Lotor could be a pain to work with sometimes, Lance had to admit he took his job seriously. The shutter clicked as Lotor stalked behind the fake wall to peer into the tall window of the balcony. Very carefully, he opened the french doors and entered the bedroom, his victim none the wiser.

“That’s it,” Lance said. “You silently creep towards your prey, ready to take a drink.”

Eyes narrowed, Lotor moved closer to the bed to loom menacingly over Keith.

“But then you stop,” Lance continued. “Though you have been watching her for days, this is the closest you’ve ever been, and you find yourself bewitched by her beauty.”

Lotor’s gaze softened as he studied Keith’s sleeping visage. Lance made sure to get closeups of both Lotor’s tender expression and Keith’s face, oblivious yet enchanting.

“You come to a decision,” Lance said. “It would be a waste to kill such a lovely creature. Instead you will make her your bride, so that she may be yours for eternity.”

A smirk curled Lotor’s lips and he dove in, clamping a hand over Keith’s mouth. Keith’s eyes snapped open and he began to struggle, but Lotor easily kept him pinned down.

“The fair maiden tries to escape, but alas, she’s no match for a supernatural being of the night,” Lance grinned. “However, she’s not the type to give up, and so the vampire has no choice but to subdue her through other means.”

He instructed Lotor to rip strips of fabric from Keith’s nightgown. Keith frowned.

“That seems like a waste of a nice dress,” he said.

“It’s not like anyone was planning on wearing it again,” Lance pointed out. “Besides, it’ll be sexy.”

Lotor gripped the bottom of the gossamer skirt and tore it with a forceful jerk. Lance could hear Keith’s breath hitch, and he looked to see violet irises eclipsed by dark pupils. He quashed his jealousy at another man getting such a reaction out of Keith and focused and snapping pictures while Lotor used the fabric to bind Keith’s wrists behind his back. 

Keith writhed on the bed, struggling to get free as Lotor ripped the skirt even more. He bound Keith’s ankles together, then flipped the smaller man onto his back to shove a piece of fabric into his mouth.

“Mmph!”

Despite Keith’s thrashing, Lotor was able to tie yet another strip over his lips. He looked up at Lance and asked, “Blindfold?”

Considering it, Lance nodded. He tried not to focus too much on Keith’s delicious little moans while Lotor tore another strip off of the dress to cover Keith’s eyes.

Lance cleared his throat. 

“With your evil deed done, you vanish into the night,” he said dramatically.

“I’m going to pick you up now,” Lotor told Keith.

Keith nodded, but still let out a muffled squeak when the taller man tossed him over his shoulder. Lance stepped back to get the perfect angle as Lotor carried Keith through the balcony doors and out of sight.

“Awesome,” Lance said. “You two can take a break while I set up the next scene.”

Lotor walked out from behind the backdrop still carrying Keith. Lance automatically stepped forward to...what? Take Keith from him? That would be rather silly and pointless, since Lotor clearly wasn’t struggling to hold Keith up. He gave Lance an odd look, but didn’t say anything as he passed him, walking over to the couch to set Keith down. 

Face feeling a bit warm, Lance nodded to himself and went to switch the backdrop. As he worked, Lance watched from the corner of his eye as Lotor untied Keith.

“Thanks,” Keith said, quietly enough that Lance had to strain to hear him.

“Of course,” Lotor replied.

They continued to chat while Lance changed the bedding. He only caught snathces of their conversations, but from what he could tell they were just making small talk to get to know each other, which was perfectly reasonable since they had just met so why did Lance feel so weird about it? He should be happy that two of his best models seemed to be getting along. Especially since Lotor could be a diva even on his best days.

“Alright, that should do it,” Lance finally said. “Keith, you’re up first. We’ll do some solo shots and then Lotor will join you.”

“Okay,” Keith nodded. He walked closer and ran an appreciative eye over the new set. “Wow, it looks completely different.”

Lance couldn’t help but puff up a bit. He took great pride in the quality of his work, and made up for the limitations of his small studio with hard work and creativity. 

The backdrop was the most obvious change. Rather than a pretty, moonlit balcony, it was the interior of a luxurious yet aged castle. Tall candelabras gave the illusion of light, though in reality the lighting was from Lance’s professional kit. The bed was the same one from the previous scene, but Lance changed the sheets, duvet, and pillows to make it seem different. The final touch was a fancy, tall-backed armchair that looked like it was straight out of Dracula’s castle.

“So what now?” Keith asked. Lance didn’t miss the way he was eagerly eyeing the rope in Lance’s hands.

A slow grin curled Lance’s lips. “Now I’m gonna tie you to the bed.”

Keith stared back at him and with a slight squeak in his voice said, “Okay.”

Satisfaction coiling warm and bright in his chest, Lance directed Keith to sit on the bed. Perching next to him, Lance carefully tied the rope around Keith’s wrists. It was thin and soft, and the dark red color complimented Keith’s pale skin. As he cinched the final knot, Lance couldn’t help but marvel once again at how delicate Keith’s wrists were, and how good they looked bound together.

He told Keith to lay in the center of the bed, his long dark hair fanned out beneath him on the pillow and arms placed over his head so Lance could tie the rope to the headboard. 

“Doing okay?” Lance asked.

Cheeks flushed a pretty pink, Keith nodded.

Lance retrieved another coil of rope and kneeled on the mattress beside him. The nightgown’s skirt had been practically reduced to shreds, so it was a simple matter to pull the remains higher to reveal creamy thighs.

“W-what are you doing?” Keith asked.

“Oh, sorry,” Lance said. “Probably should have given you more warning. I’m gonna tie your legs together here.” He tapped a finger right above Keith’s knee. 

“Oh, okay,” Keith nodded. 

He watched Lance loop the rope around and between his thighs. 

“Is that tight enough?”

Keith wriggled a bit and nodded. Lance considered tying his ankles as well, but decided against it. Binding his thighs together while allowing his feet to spread apart would make for a cute, feminine pose.

“And now for the pièce de résistance,” Lance proclaimed, holding a strip of blood red silk aloft.

“It’s so soft,” Keith remarked as Lance knotted the blindfold.

“Only the best for you,” Lance winked, even though Keith couldn’t see it. He was only half joking. The material was quite luxurious, silky smooth and thick enough to block out any light.

Lance procured another identical piece to slip between Keith’s lips, careful to not disrupt the wig as he tied it behind Keith’s head.

“Good?”

“Mmph,” Keith said.

“Good.” Lance grabbed his camera. “Now let’s see you struggle.”

He took several shots while Keith squirmed on the bed, his spine a graceful arch as he pulled at his restraints. It really was a thing of beauty. Muffled pants and moans soon filled the air, and Lance felt both regretful that he didn’t record video to capture those noises forever, and thankful that he didn’t have to share them with anyone else.

Well, no one else except for Lotor.

Speaking of which, Lance beckoned the other model over. He directed Lotor to untie the rope that connected Keith to the headboard but keep his wrists bound together. Lotor slipped his arms behind Keith’s back and underneath his knees, and picked him up bridal style. Keith continued to struggle as his captor slowly walked around the bed and toward the camera.

The shutter clicked rapidly, and Lance decided one of these shots would make a perfect cover for the album. It really looked like a pinup from a classic horror movie with the helpless damsel being carried in the triumphant vampire’s arms.

“Alright, now go sit in the armchair,” Lance said. “It’s finally time for you to feed on your victim and turn her into your bride. Literally.”

Lotor lowered himself gracefully onto the chair, angling himself into a perfect pose where the lines of his shoulders and posture spoke of elegance and power. Perched on his lap, Keith performed admirably as well. Though most of his face was hidden by the blindfold and gag, Keith still managed to convey that he was scared yet undeniably under the seductive spell of his captor.

Lance handed Lotor a bridal veil to pin to Keith’s hair. A simple accessory, but paired with the white dress the meaning was clear.

With a smirk, Lotor brushed the long ebony locks from one of Keith’s shoulders, unveiling flawless, creamy skin. Eyes locked with the camera, Lotor lowered his mouth to let his fake fangs brush against Keith’s neck.

“Hmnnh,” Keith moaned.

One of Lotor’s hands rose up to cover Keith’s mouth over the gag, further muffling his voice. This seemed to rile Keith up even more, judging by his increased squirming and high pitched whine.

Lance was not jealous, and he definitely didn’t want to cut Lotor’s hand off.

Lotor himself just looked amused, letting out a low, sensual chuckle against Keith’s throat. Lance couldn’t tell if his reaction was genuine or part of the act. He hoped the latter.

Finally, Lotor sank his fangs down into Keith’s flesh. The fake blood capsules hidden in his mouth trickled red liquid down the pale column of Keith’s throat to stain the white dress.

_ “Hmmmh!” _ Keith keened with a shudder.

The hand that was covering his mouth slipped back to grip a handful of dark locks and yanked Keith’s head to the side, further exposing his neck so Lotor could feast. A small part of Lance was thankful that the wig stayed on despite the rough treatment, but a much bigger part was frozen.

When Lotor pulled on his hair, Keith’s reaction was...unlike anything Lance had seen from him before. His spine arched, his toes curled, and he let out the loudest, neediest, _ sexiest _ moan Lance had ever heard in his entire life.

Keith went still. The uncovered parts of his face turned bright red, and he turned away from Lotor with a miserable, “mmph.”

Lotor blinked, then snorted and gave Keith a pat on the arm.

“Don’t worry, darling, it happens to the best of us,” he said. “One might even say it’s a benefit in this line of work. Isn’t that right?”

He shot Lance a look. Lance scraped his jaw up off the floor and nodded.

“Yeah, totally,” he said, grateful that his voice sounded normal. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. It’ll make the picture look more genuine, too, like method acting!”

Lance trailed off with an awkward laugh. Lotor raised an eyebrow at him, then looked over at Keith. His gaze returned to Lance, an annoyingly knowing glint in his eyes. Lance scowled.

“Shall we return to the shoot?” Lotor asked, his lips curling into a smirk though his voice didn’t give him away. “Or would you like a break?”

Keith seemed to consider it and shook his head. His posture did look more relaxed after Lotor and Lance’s reassurances.

“Very well,” Lotor gently tipped Keith’s face to the side as he kept his gaze locked on Lance. “On your signal, director.”

Lance nodded and took more pictures, occasionally instructing them to adjust their poses. He threw himself into the work, determined not to think about how much he wanted to bury his fingers in Keith’s ebony locks and _ pull _, see if he could get Keith to make that sound again.

Guh.

“Okay,” he said a bit too loudly, “now that you’ve drained your victim to the cusp of death, it’s time to feed her some of your blood and turn her into a vampire.”

Nodding, Lotor loosened the gag, pulling the cloth from Keith's lips. “How would you like me to do it? Feed her from my wrist? Or perhaps,” he shot Lance a smirk, “I could drink from my wrist and feed her mouth-to-mouth?”

“No!” Lance blurted. When Lotor’s shit-eating grin widened, he hastily said, “I mean, only if Keith is comfortable with it.”

Keith, seemingly oblivious to Lance’s plight, shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me. Whatever you think will look better, Lance.”

“Yes, it’s your artistic vision,” Lotor agreed. 

Lance was glad Keith still wore a blindfold so he didn’t see how much Lance wanted to punch Lotor in his smug face. He tried to calm down and think. Objectively, a kiss would make a better picture, and fit well into the narrative of the scene.

But Lance really, really didn’t want them to.

However, looking into Lotor’s gleaming eyes and seeing the clear challenge there sparked something in Lance’s chest. Lotor had clearly caught on to Lance’s feelings, and wanted to see if Lance would put said feeling above his professionalism and art, and to be honest he was sorely tempted.

“If Keith’s okay with it, then fine,” he said.

Something like approval lit up Lotor’s eyes, and under Lance’s guidance he repositioned Keith to sit sideways across his lap, one arm supporting Keith as Keith’s head tipped back like he was unconscious. Lotor pretended to bite the inside of his own wrist, then gently drew Keith closer as he leaned down so his face hovered inches above Keith’s.

As he snapped photos, Lance told himself it wasn’t a big deal. They were all professionals. Actors kissed each other all the time, and their significant others were fine with it. Lance wasn’t even Keith’s significant other in the first place, so why did it feel like a giant lump of ice dropped into his stomach when Lotor’s lips brushed against Keith’s?

Lotor held the position long enough for a handful of shots before glancing up at Lance. His lips, still pressed against Keith’s, curled the tiniest bit.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Lance said, once again louder than necessary. The two models turned to him, thankfully breaking the kiss, but Lance’s relief was short lived when he realized they were waiting for him to continue. “Uh, I mean, I think that was good enough. We can move on. Yeah.”

Lotor snorted, but thankfully didn’t make fun of Lance’s less than eloquent words. He helped Lance untie Keith, who blinked a few times to readjust to the lights when Lance tugged off his blindfold. It was unfairly cute.

“Are we done with the shoot?” Keith asked.

“Almost,” Lance replied. “We just need some glam shots of the vampire newlyweds.”

He gave Keith a set of fangs and a pair of blood red colored contacts that matched Lotor’s. While Keith went to the bathroom to put them in, Lance tried and failed to ignore Lotor’s gaze.

“What?” he finally snapped.

“Oh, nothing,” Lotor said innocently. Lance shot him a look of his own and Lotor chuckled. “I just couldn’t help but notice you’re quite...taken with Keith.”

Denial seemed futile at this point, so Lance merely said, “So?”

“Just an observation,” Lotor smiled, and Lance hated that ‘smarmy asshole’ was a good look on him even if it did help pay the bills. “I’ll admit that when I first noticed your little crush I was worried you were letting it get in the way of business. That perhaps Keith’s recent rise in popularity on Lazuli was due to favoritism. However,” he added when Lance opened his mouth to jump to Keith’s defense, “after today’s shoot my concerns have been assuaged.”

Lance eyed him warily. “They have?”

“Yes,” Lotor sighed. “Much as I hate to admit it, Keith is quite talented on top of being lovely to look at. A bit inexperienced, but that will be fixed with time. You impressed me as well. I thought you would let your feelings get in the way of your art, but you remained professional.”

Lance rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. He always thought it was a little weird how Lotor treated this gig like it was Vogue or something instead of an erotica website, but on the other hand he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t an ego boost that a model of Lotor’s caliber chose to work with Lance.

“Thanks, I think,” he said. “You won't, uh, tell him, right?”

Lotor’s eyebrows rose. Before he could answer, Keith hurried into the room.

“Sorry,” Keith said. “I haven’t put contacts in in a while, so it took a minute. Did I miss anything?”

“Uhhh,” Lance shot a wild look at Lotor.

For a second he was afraid Lotor would spill the beans, but instead the taller man said, “We were merely discussing the final shots.”

Keith seemed to accept this, and Lance let out an internal sigh of relief. They took their places on set, and got back to work. Lotor held Keith close as Keith’s newly crimson eyes fluttered open to gaze up at his sire. As Lance took pictures, he couldn’t help but think Keith’s natural violet eyes were prettier.

They did a few more poses. Lotor swept Keith into his arms and they pretended to waltz, Keith’s dress flowing as they danced. Next, Lotor picked Keith up bridal style, and Keith wrapped his arms around Lotor’s neck with a smile as the vampire carried him to the bed. Lounging against the headboard, Lotor watched with a satisfied smirk on his lips while Keith crawled closer to straddle his lap. They both turned to give the camera a smoldering glance, and Lance felt equal parts aroused and jealous as he took the final shot.

“And that’s a wrap,” Lance grinned. “Amazing job today, you two! This album is gonna sell like crazy.”

“Well, I should think so,” Lotor sniffed haughtily. “Who wouldn’t pay to see specimens as gorgeous as we are, right Keith?”

“Uh,” Keith blinked, clearly not sure if Lotor was joking or not. “Sure.”

Lotor smiled and gave him a pat on the cheek. 

“I like you,” he said before walking out of the room to change.

Keith shot Lance a baffled look, and Lance shrugged. Lotor was weird. Keith left to change as well, and once he returned, Lance led him to the couch for aftercare. While Lance massaged one of Keith’s wrists, Lotor came back into the room.

“Now isn’t this sweet,” he smirked. “Do you do this for all your models, Lance? You’ve never done it for me.”

Lance flushed, avoiding Keith’s gaze. “That’s because you’re never a sub in your shoots. You do something that requires aftercare, then we’ll talk.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lotor said, glancing at Keith, who frowned. His expression was quickly erased when Lotor snatched his free hand and pressed a light kiss to his knuckles. “It was a pleasure working with you today, Keith. I rarely find other models I’m compatible with, so I hope we can collaborate again soon.”

“Oh,” Keith blinked again. “Um, sure, I had fun too.”

Lotor smiled and with a last farewell, swept out of the studio like a force of nature. Lance and Keith sat in silence for a moment before Keith turned to him.

“Well,” he said, “that was interesting.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Lance snorted. “I hope he didn’t put you off of modeling with a partner for good.”

“No,” Keith assured him. “I meant what I said. It was fun.”

“The other models are a lot more normal, I promise,” Lance said. “I would have paired you with one of them, but Lotor is by far the best fit for a vampire.”

“Lance, it’s fine,” Keith laughed. “He really wasn’t as bad as you’re making him out to be.”

Lance knew that, but a tiny, stupid part of his brain insisted Keith not like Lotor too much. Quashing it down, he instead switched topics.

“I put in the order for your Zelda costume, by the way,” he said, “and Hunk is already designing the set, so the shoot should be fairly soon.”

He was rewarded with Keith’s pretty eyes lighting up in excitement.

“Do I get to know which character I’ll be?”

“Nope,” Lance said, popping his lips on the p. “It’s a surprise.”

Keith pouted. “Sadist.”

“Masochist,” Lance shot back. 

Keith’s jaw dropped. For a brief second Lance worried he had overstepped, but then Keith threw his head back and laughed.

Yup, Lance thought, watching Keith’s face turn pink as tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Completely and undeniably fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotor may be kind of an asshole sometimes, but he actually respects Lance a lot as an artist. He found he liked Keith too, so he decided to be Lance’s wingman in his own weird way. Unfortunately, even jealousy wasn’t enough to get Lance to act quite yet.
> 
> Also I think this is the third time I’ve started a chapter in a fic with the sentence, “Lance was so fucked,” to describe his feelings for Keith and I have zero regrets.
> 
> Anyway, hope y’all enjoyed seeing Lance’s pov. If so, please leave me a comment/kudos/bookmark! Next chapter will be the Zelda photoshoot! Woo!
> 
> See you next time! (๑¯◡¯๑)


	7. Zelda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for links (hehe) to images of the costumes Keith wears in this chapter, so here they are. I don’t know how to add links to the end notes so to try to avoid spoilers I won’t list them by name.
> 
> [Outfit 1](https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/images/b/b9/Hyrule_Warriors_Artwork_Zelda_Baton.png)   
[Outfit 2](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/characterprofile/images/a/a1/LinkZelda.png/revision/latest?cb=20160105030137)   
[Outfit 3](https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/zelda_gamepedia_en/f/f0/BotW_Link_Wearing_Gerudo_Set.jpg?version=3d258be682f65364b31bd3bc482d1dff)   
[Outfit 4](https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/zelda_gamepedia_en/a/a8/BotW_Link_Wearing_Stealth_Set.jpg?version=93b9543e498b5d6b6d9ec6eb09d90341)
> 
> Hopefully they work and remain active. I tried to use images from the zelda wiki, but if any are broken let me know in the comments and I’ll replace them. Alternatively, you can google search them yourself, since I name and describe them all as usual.
> 
> I also wanna add a quick TRIGGER WARNING for anyone with claustrophobia. For one of the scenes in this chapter, Keith is enclosed in a small space. He himself doesn’t have claustrophobia (in fact, he enjoys the experience) but the descriptions could be upsetting for anyone who does, so please read with caution if that applies to you. It should be pretty obvious when it’s coming up since Lance and Keith talk about it beforehand.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy! ❀(*´◡`*)❀

Keith frowned and checked his phone. According to his texts, this was the correct time for their next photoshoot, but he’d rung the doorbell twice now and no answer. Just as Keith was about to call Lance, he heard thundering footsteps and the door suddenly opened to reveal a frazzled looking Lance.

“Sorry, I’m sorry!” Lance blurted, slightly out of breath. “Come on in, you must be freezing.”

“I’m fine,” Keith assured him as he bustled Keith through the threshold. “I was only waiting a few minutes, and it’s not that cold.”

“Still,” Lance said, “I should have texted you, but I got distracted.”

“Is something wrong?”

“The shoot before yours ran into a wardrobe malfunction,” Lance explained. “We fixed it, but it pushed the schedule way back. It’ll be at least an hour or so before we can start yours.”

“Oh,” Keith said. “Should I come back later?”

“You can if you want,” Lance said, “or you can stick around and watch. We’re about halfway done.”

Keith hummed curiously. Watching another model work could be a good experience. After hanging up his coat and beanie, Keith followed Lance to the studio, where a beautiful, young woman was in the process of tying up another beautiful, young woman.

“Keith, this is Allura,” Lance introduced. “She was one of the first models to ever pose for Lazuli, and I’m thankful everyday that she doesn’t leave to go be a famous movie star or something.” 

Allura laughed, and Keith could understand what Lance meant. She certainly looked like she belonged on a red carpet, with flawless dark skin, long, pure white hair, and sparkling eyes that matched her smile. The way she was expertly twining rope around her partner’s torso only enhanced her beauty, and gave Keith the impression that this was someone who knew what she was doing.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Keith,” she said.

“You too,” Keith nodded.

“And this other stunning work of art is Romelle,” Lance grinned. “She’s newer to the gig, but no less talented.”

“Oh, stop.” Romelle rolled her eyes with a smile. She tried to give Keith a little wave, despite her arms being tied behind her back. Keith returned the gesture.

Romelle was just as pretty as Allura, though in a different way. She was fair skinned, her hair a golden curtain that fell down her back. A light smattering of freckles painted her nose and cheeks like tiny stars.

“You ladies mind if Keith observes the rest of the shoot?”

“Not at all,” Allura said. “It’s partly our fault that his shoot got delayed.”

“And maybe afterwards we can exchange some tips,” Romelle added with a wink.

Keith retreated to lean against the back wall and watch as the trio returned to work. It was...odd to be on the other side of the camera. 

Though he came in halfway through, it didn’t take long for Keith to figure out the photoshoot’s theme. The set resembled the interior of a temple from ancient Greece, and there were even a couple of fake pillars on either side of the backdrop. Allura and Romelle both wore toga-style dresses, Allura’s a soft pink and Romelle’s a pale blue, as well as appropriate jewelry.

At first Keith figured it was some kind of period piece, or perhaps they were supposed to be Amazons. However, as the scene played out he realized they were telling a specific and familiar story. 

Allura carried Romelle bridal style to lay her gently on a pile of silks. She brushed a stray lock of hair from the other woman’s face with a tender expression. 

“Good,” Lance said. “Now Romelle, you wake up.”

Romelle’s eyes fluttered open. Realizing she was bound and gagged, she began to struggle in panic. Allura quickly tried to calm her down, brushing a hand over her golden hair.

“It’s alright,” she whispered. “It’s just me.”

Romelle’s wide eyes finally met Allura’s and she went still. Keith watched in fascination as Romelle’s expression transformed, her fear replaced by confusion and uncertainty, but also unmistakable affection.

“Mmph?” Romelle mumbled, squirming in place.

“I’m sorry, my love,” Allura said, “but it’s a necessary precaution. Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe and nothing will come between us ever again.”

“Mmnh,” Romelle replied, letting out a small sigh when Allura kissed her through the gag.

“You must stay here, hidden away from those who would separate us, while I find a way for us to be together forever,” Allura said. “Can you do that for me, my dear?”

Romelle nodded, and they shared a look so tragic and filled with love that Keith almost forgot they were acting. It certainly felt like Allura and Romelle’s performance was on another level. Their physical movements almost reminded Keith of a ballet.

Allura left the set and Lance guided Romelle through a series of poses. Keith had never felt attraction to women before, and while that still held true he couldn’t deny that watching Romelle twist and writhe against her bonds gave him an odd sense of...something. Professional curiosity, perhaps. Or a desire to take her place. Whatever it was, he enjoyed it.

Finally, Allura returned to the stage. She gracefully knelt beside Romelle and stroked her face, eliciting a small whimper as Romelle gazed up with pleading eyes.

“Oh, my darling,” Allura smiled. “You’ve done so well for me, and now you shall be rewarded. I have found the answer.”

She procured a pomegranate, swiftly slicing it in half with a knife. After pulling the gag from Romelle’s mouth, Allura pressed one of the seeds to her lips.

“Eat these seeds,” she said, “and we shall be bound together for eternity.”

Romelle’s eyes brightened with hope, then fell shut. She parted her lips and allowed Allura to slip the seed inside, then another, and another. Once the sixth and final seed was gone, Allura leaned forward to press her own lips to Romelle’s. They pulled apart and gazed at each other with soft smiles.

“Perfect!” Lance said, startling Keith who had been drawn in by the performance. “That’s a wrap.”

Like a switch had been flipped, the models’ faces changed in an instant, returning to cheerful grins. Lance and Allura helped Romelle out of her bonds and then Allura left to get changed while Lance led Romelle to the couch for aftercare.

Watching Lance’s hands massage her shoulders and back, Keith tried to ignore the spike of jealousy in his stomach. 

“So, Keith,” Romelle suddenly said. Keith scrambled to wipe the pout off of his face. “What did you think of the shoot?”

“It was amazing,” Keith answered honestly. “I felt like I was watching a play. Do you guys usually act out dialogue like that?’

“Allura says it helps her convey emotion,” Romelle said. “I’ll admit, it often pulls me into the scene too. I’m not always in a position where I can talk back though,” she added with a wink.

Keith’s lips quirked up. “You do a lot of bondage shoots?”

“Among other things,” Romelle nodded. “We’ve both dabbled in different kinks for different audiences.”

“Romelle’s catgirl photoset is one of our biggest sellers,” Lance laughed.

Keith and Romelle chuckled, and Keith once again tried to ignore how Lance and Romelle were practically holding hands now as he rubbed oil into her wrists.

“What about you?” Romelle asked him.

“Oh, uh, I’ve only recently gotten into bondage so I think I wanna explore that some more before branching out into other stuff,” Keith said.

Romelle nodded. “You know yourself best and should go at your own pace. Besides, bondage is quite popular and diverse, so I doubt you’ll run out of material anytime soon. Not with this one in charge,” she shot Lance a teasing smile.

Lance rolled his eyes with an answering grin. Before Keith’s mood could completely drop, however, Allura returned to the studio dressed in modern, classy clothes.

“The powder room is free whenever you’re done, Romelle.” 

“Thanks,” Romelle chirped. She hopped up from the couch and gave Allura a quick peck on the lips before leaving the room.

Seeing Keith’s shocked stare, Allura frowned.

“Yes, we’re a couple in real life,” she snapped. “No, we will not make out in front of you no matter how much you pay us.”

At a loss of how to respond, Keith spluttered, “I’m gay.”

“Oh,” Allura seemed to consider this, her frosty expression melting. “Sorry. We just get that a lot, especially in this line of work.”

Keith grimaced sympathetically, to which Allura offered a smile.

“We got off on the wrong foot,” she held out her hand. “I’m Allura. It’s nice to finally meet you face-to-face. Lance has talked a lot about you.”

“He has?” Keith glanced at the photographer in question, who hastily stopped his frantic gestures at Allura.

“Oh yes,” Allura said, any ill will in her eyes replaced by sparkling mirth. 

Before Keith could question her further, Lance jumped in.

“Oh look, Romelle is back,” he said loudly. “You two should probably get going. I’ve taken up enough of your time, and we have to get started on Keith’s shoot asap if we wanna get done today.”

Romelle blinked, nonplussed, as Allura rolled her eyes.

“Alright, we’re going,” she said. Allura slipped her arm through Romelle’s and they walked toward the front door. “Keith, let’s meet up sometime and chat. The three of us can trade tips and gossip about Lance behind his back.”

Ignoring Lance’s indignant squawk, the two women waved goodbye and left.

“Why are all my models so weird?” he muttered.

Keith cocked his head. “Am I weird?”

Lance sighed, but didn’t answer. He led Keith over to the costume rack, and Keith felt his excitement return. He’d been looking forward to this shoot for weeks.

“Which outfit is mine?” he asked eagerly.

Lance hesitated.

“So...here’s the thing,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I had a hard time figuring out what character would suit you best, so I picked...all of them?”

“...Huh?”

“I mean, not  _ all _ of them, obviously, but like four,” Lance said. “I figured instead of a full blown scene we could do a pinup of each character, kinda like what we did for the Christmas album.”

“Oh,” Keith considered it. “Okay. Who’s first?”

Grinning, Lance plucked one of the hangers off of the rack and handed it to Keith. Keith’s eyebrows rose.

“Hyrule Warriors isn’t canon.”

“Don’t start that again,” Lance warned. “I’ve got feathers left over from another shoot and I’m not afraid to use them.”

Keith raised his hands in surrender.

“Besides,” Lance added, “even if it’s not canon, it’s still got some of the best character designs. Hyrule Warriors Zelda is not only the hottest version of Zelda, she’s also older than most of the others.”

“Point,” Keith conceded. He would have felt a bit weird dressing up as one of the teenage Zeldas for an erotic photoshoot.

While Lance started breaking down the set from Allura and Romelle’s shoot, Keith left to get changed. He dumped the pile of accessories on the bathroom counter and stripped out of his normal clothes.

First, Keith put on a lavender corset and a matching pair of shorts. The corset hugged Keith’s waist to give him a slightly more feminine shape. Next, he slipped on a pair of thigh-high stockings, silky dark purple with gold embroidery on the trim. A tantalizing strip of his pale thighs peeked out between the stockings and shorts.

After shoving his legs into metallic, knee-high boots, Keith stepped into the skirt part of the dress. It was a long swathe of fabric that started out a pale lavender at the top to match the corset and shorts, and then gradually became a darker pink color towards the bottom. More gold embroidery decorated the lower half of the skirt. 

The skirt itself only wrapped around Keith’s hips and backside, leaving a large gap in the front to reveal his legs. It was clasped together by another long piece of fabric that hung down the front, covered in elaborate embroidery and symbols, including the Hyrulian crest. 

Two golden plates of armor hung on top of Keith’s hips, though he was relieved to find they were made out of some kind of foam. A chestplate made of the same material went around his nonexistent bosom to give the illusion of breasts, accompanied by a pair of shoulder pauldrons attached together by a large necklace...thing. The pauldrons had fabric sticking out from underneath them that matched the skirt, which looked nice and felt better on Keith’s bare skin. Vambraces went onto his arms, with more fabric poking out from underneath that matched the stockings.

Lastly, Keith settled the wig on his head. Two pieces of hair fell over his chest, tied off by jewelry, while the majority of the long, blonde locks cascaded down his back before coming together in a braid. The braid went all the way down past his butt before it, too, was tied off with a large piece of jewelry.

Keith placed the gold crown on top of the wig, put on the long, pointed elf ears, and touched up his makeup. As he examined himself in the mirror, he had to admit that Lance had a point. This version of Zelda had a gorgeous design.

Upon returning to the studio, Keith found that Lance was nearly done setting up. Gone was the ancient Greek temple, replaced by a lush, green forest.

Spotting Keith, Lance let out a low whistle. 

“Am I right, or am I right?” he asked with a smirk.

Keith did a little twirl, delighted by how the skirt flared out. Lance laughed and ushered him onto the stage.

“We’ve got a lot to do, so let’s get started,” he said. “My idea for this photo is fairly simple. You know how in Hyrule Warriors there are “dark” versions of the characters?”

Keith nodded. The game was basically Dynasty Warriors with Zelda characters, so they needed an excuse for any character to be an enemy in various missions. Even if you were playing as Link, you could still fight another Link in a battle.

“The scenario for this pinup is that Dark Zelda has kidnapped the real Princess Zelda in order to replace her,” Lance explained. “I’ll have you pose as both Zeldas, and photoshop them together in post.”

He directed Keith to kneel slightly off center stage with his arms out like he was holding something. According to Lance, it would look like Keith was tying the other Zelda’s wrists together behind her back, but the viewer wouldn’t see his hands.

“Most of your body will be blocked by the other version of you,” Lance said, “so just focus on your facial expression.”

Keith nodded and did his best to look like an evil doppelganger. After a few more shots, Lance declared them ready to move on.

“I thought we’d start with a classic damsel in distress pose,” he said, holding up a coil of thin rope, “and work our way up to more complicated stuff later in the shoot.”

“Sounds good.”

Keith sat on the floor and adjusted his skirt to frame his legs in a pleasing manner. Leaning back on his palms, he watched Lance wind the rope around and between his ankles. The boots prevented the rope from digging into Keith’s skin, but a little wiggling proved how tight the knots were. Lance bound his thighs together as well, right above the knees, and this time Keith was able to feel the snug texture of the ropes through the fabric of his stockings.

“Ok, let’s do your arms next,” Lance said.

Leaning forward for balance, Keith allowed Lance to pull his arms behind his back. The vambraces, like the boots, took the pressure from the bonds around his wrists, but Keith didn’t mind too much. His arms were pinned firmly enough that no amount of struggling seemed to help.

“That should do it,” Lance said, sweeping a critical eye over Keith’s squirming form. “And look, I even got you a matching gag.”

He held a strip of silk aloft. The lavender color matched Keith’s dress perfectly. Lance balled up a white square of cloth and tucked it into Keith’s mouth, then tied the lavender silk over his lips. Keith let out a small moan when Lance cinched the knot tightly behind his head.

“Ready?”

“Mnnh,” Keith replied.

He tried to look defiant as Lance snapped pictures. Recalling Allura and Romelle’s performance earlier, Keith did his best to slip into the role of the kidnapped princess, equal parts angry at being caught, worried for her friends and subjects, and confident that someone would see through this villain and rescue her.

And, of course, a little turned on. As Keith pulled on the ropes that bound him, he felt himself slip further into that nice haze. His determined expression grew softer, shyer, perhaps even coy. 

After several shots, Lance helped Keith lay on his side for an alternate pose. Keith curled up slightly as he glanced up at the lens through his lashes, the golden curtain of his wig draped aesthetically across the floor. The new position put more strain on his arms, giving his muscles a pleasant ache.

“Perfect,” Lance said. “I think we got it.”

Keith held back a sigh as Lance began to untie him. These pinups were done so quickly compared to acting out a scene. He wished he could have a bit more time to play, but knew they had a schedule to keep. Besides, it wasn’t over yet.

“What’s next?” Keith asked once he could speak again.

“Next we’ll do Link, since we won’t have to change the set too much,” Lance replied. He took another costume off of the rack and handed it to Keith. “I wanted to do Breath of the Wild Link since I think he’s the prettiest, but he doesn’t wear the traditional green tunic for most of the game, and I felt like that was important for this shoot. Besides,” he winked, “it doesn’t get much more classic Link than Ocarina of Time.”

Keith smiled and returned to the bathroom to change. Once the Zelda costume was folded in a neat pile on the counter, Keith examined his new outfit.

It was blessedly simple compared to the previous one. First, Keith slipped on a pair of white leggings and a long-sleeved, white shirt, lacing up the short collar. Sturdy, leather boots went onto his feet, the tops folded down over shiny buckles. 

Next, Keith donned the famous green tunic. It was short-sleeved with a large turned-down collar, and fell to mid-thigh. A thick, brown belt looped around his waist and another hung diagonally across his chest, and two fingerless leather gauntlets covered Keith’s forearms.

After that, all that was left were the wig, elf ears, and matching green hat. The wig was blonde like Zelda’s, but short and parted in the center. The hat was cone shaped and floppy, tapering into a point at the middle of his back.

Keith touched up his makeup and returned to the studio. The set still resembled a forest, but with a key difference. The backdrop of trees was now spread across the floor. A large trampoline-like structure rested on top of it a few inches off the ground, but instead of a solid black canvas, it was the unmistakable image of a spider web.

“Cool, huh?” Lance asked excitedly. “Hunk made it. That too.”

He pointed at the figurine perched on one corner of the web. It was a huge, black spider, nearly half as big as Keith himself, with eight spindly legs and tiny, glowing eyes. White paint covered its back in the image of a human skull.

“That’s awesome,” Keith said. “I’m guessing the scene is that Link has been captured by a skulltula?”

“Yup,” Lance nodded. 

“Why is the background on the floor?”

“Have you ever seen those pictures where it looks like Spider-Man is climbing up a wall, but really he’s climbing across the floor and the camera is just sideways?” Lance asked. “We’re gonna do that, except instead of sideways the camera will be pointing straight down. That way it’ll look like you’re stuck to the web without actually having to string you up.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry,” Lance added with a smirk, “you’ll still be bound and gagged.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Keith pouted.

Lance shot him a knowing look, which Keith deftly ignored. 

Lance held the web steady as Keith climbed onto it. His earlier comparison to a trampoline wasn’t far off the mark; the surface had a slight spring to it. Once Keith was settled on his back, Lance took his wrists and positioned them above his head about a foot apart. Using a spool of silvery twine, Lance tied each wrist to the web, looping it around and around and around.

“This thing should be fairly sturdy, but try not to pull  _ too _ hard,” he warned. “Hunk will kill me if we break it before the shoot is over.”

“Okay.”

Lance walked around to Keith’s feet, and Keith tried not to blush when Lance spread his legs further apart to bind each ankle the same way. He added some more “webbing” across different parts of Keith’s body, over a thigh or across his chest, never quite so much as to obscure the costume but enough to suggest he was well and truly caught.

Finally, he brought over a strip of white tape that had been cut and drawn on to resemble more webbing. It reminded Keith of when Spider-Man would use his webs to gag someone. He let out a pleased hum while Lance smoothed the tape over his lips.

“Let me just hook up my camera and we’ll start.”

Keith nodded and Lance disappeared. While he waited, Keith tested out the bonds, careful of Lance’s warning. He had yet to meet Hunk, but would hate to make the man upset. 

Despite how thin the material was, Keith felt pretty securely locked in place, and no amount of wiggling seemed to help. That, combined with the sticky adhesive of the gag and the skulltula model in the corner of his eye, made it easy to slip into character when Lance’s camera came into view, hanging over Keith from a crane-like mechanism. Lance gave the word and the shoot began.

Tugging at the web that ensnared him, Keith glared up at the lens. He was the Hero of Time, and this monster wouldn’t hold him for long. He would escape, and return to his quest to save Hyrule.

“Good, good,” Lance said from his monitor. “Show me your courage and determination, but remember to enjoy it. This is still erotica.”

Taking heed of Lance’s advice, Keith allowed himself to focus more on his bonds. The trampoline gave a little bounce as he writhed in place, and the twine almost seemed to tighten around him. Imagining himself in peril with no hope of rescue, Keith redoubled his efforts and pulled harder against the elastic restraints.

“Mmmph,” he whined in frustration.

He began to slip into that oh-so-nice haze. Keith didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard a sudden  _ twang, _ like a broken guitar string. Blinking, Keith raised his now free arm up to his eyes.

Oops.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Lance rushed over to Keith’s side.

Keith turned his head to look up. The elastic material of the trampoline that his wrist had been pinned to was no longer attached to the metal frame, though thankfully the rest remained intact.

“I’m fine,” he replied once Lance peeled away the gag. “Sorry I broke your set.”

“We were basically done,” Lance waved away his concern and started to untie Keith. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Once Keith was free, Lance told him to take a break before the next shoot. Keith sat on the studio couch and drank water while Lance cleared the set. Soon, the photographer walked over with yet another set of clothes.

“Two down, two to go,” he said. 

Keith took the hanger with a grin. “I had a feeling this outfit would appear.”

“Like I said, Breath of the Wild Link is the prettiest Link,” Lance said, “and this is his prettiest outfit, so it’s perfect for someone pretty like you.”

Heat rushed to Keith’s cheeks. Thankfully, Lance didn’t seem to notice since he had already turned around to continue working on the set. 

Keith hurried to the bathroom, mentally berating himself. Of course Lance thought he was pretty. He wouldn’t have hired Keith as a model if he didn’t think Keith was attractive, after all, but that didn’t mean Lance was attracted  _ to _ him. He was around beautiful people all the time, like Lotor and Allura and Romelle, so it wasn’t like Keith was special.

Nodding to himself, Keith stripped and ignored the squirming in his belly. Instead he focused on his work. The Gerudo set was his favorite outfit in Breath of the Wild, and Keith couldn’t deny he had hoped it would be the one Lance picked for the shoot.

In the game, one of Link’s quests required him to enter a town inhabited entirely by women. The Gerudo tribe was a bit like the Amazons if the Amazons lived in the middle of a huge desert. Link accomplished this task by crossdressing in the traditional garb of the Gerudo.

The costume itself was similar to a belly dancer's outfit. The pants were purple with a pattern of a crescent moon curled around a circle, a traditional symbol of the tribe. They went down to just below Keith’s knees, and the bottoms were trimmed with gold. A burgundy sash with tiny gold tassels wrapped around Keith’s hips, and on top of that rested a belt made of gold symbols on a green background.

Keith toed on a pair of slippers, also green and gold, then clasped a gold bracelet around his right ankle. Small golden triangles dangled from the ring, and that jingled when he moved.

Next, Keith donned the halter top. It was green with more symbols embroidered on it. Thin, gold metal ran along the bottom rim, and a blue frill draped down from that. The top of the garment rose to the hollow of his throat, where it attached to a gold necklace.

A pair of thin, bejeweled arm bands hugged Keith’s biceps, and blue fabric connected the bands to the bracelets on his wrists, making a pair of light, airy sleeves. The blue fabric continued past the bracelets to cover his palms and the backs of his hands before finally connecting to golden rings on each of his middle fingers.

Finally, Keith took a cord of gold with a ruby hanging from its center and tied in across his forehead. He tucked his hair into the wig, longer and a darker shade of blond than Ocarina of Time Link’s, before carefully setting the blue headscarf on top. The scarf fell to the middle of his back. Keith brought the matching veil up to cover his nose and mouth, clasping the thin chain behind his head.

Keith examined his reflection. The entire bottom half of his torso was on full display from just below his pectorals down to the V of his hips. His shoulders and neck were also bare except for the jewelry. After being almost completely covered up in the last scene, Keith felt oddly vulnerable, yet undeniably excited.

Upon returning, Keith noticed that the set had a new backdrop and floor, both painted to look like grey stone. A large treasure chest sat center stage.

“Oh, you’re back,” Lance said. “Ready for the next photo?”

“Uh huh,” Keith nodded. “What’s the setup?”

“One of the best parts of Zelda is finding treasure chests,” Lance said, “but this time,  _ you’re _ gonna be the treasure.” He paused. “You’re not claustrophobic, are you?”

“No.”

“Good, because that would have thrown a big wrench in my plans.”

Lance went over to the chest and opened it with a flourish.

“Da na na naaa!” he sang cheekily.

Keith rolled his eyes and walked closer. The chest was larger than the ones from the games, and the inside was lined with velvet cushions.

Lance helped Keith step into the chest and sit down sideways like he was in a shorter-than-average bathtub. Once Keith was settled, Lance retrieved a thin, gold chain with a clasp on both ends. He clipped the chain to the gold bracelets of Keith’s sleeves, effectively turning them into a pair of handcuffs.

Keith scooted forward a bit to sink further into the chest, though his head and shoulders were still above the rim, and Lance pulled Keith’s legs up out of the chest to dangle over the edge before snapping a pair of actual manacles around Keith’s ankles, the golden chain swinging lazily through the air with every move Keith made.

Wriggling experimentally, Keith was surprised to find the chest fairly comfortable. The cushioned lining was soft and plush, and his hands were bound in front of him rather than behind his back.

A tapping noise drew his attention to Lance’s fingers drumming on the chest’s rim. Keith shot him a questioning look.

“So, I know ball gags aren’t your favorite, but I got you something,” Lance blurted out. When Keith’s eyebrows rose, Lance hastily added, “For the shoot. I mean, you can keep it if you want afterwards, but I had it custom made to go with this outfit. Um, here.”

He presented the ball gag. It wasn’t too big, which Keith appreciated, and had straps made of rich, dark brown leather. The rubber ball itself was a metallic gold color, and embedded in the front was what looked like a large ruby.

Eyes wide, Keith gingerly took the gag in his hands. Closer examination revealed the jewel was some kind of plastic, but it looked real enough at a glance.

“If the light is at the right angle, we should be able to see the glint of the ruby underneath your veil,” Lance said. “We’ll also do some shots without the veil, and I’ll decide later which version looks better.”

“Alright,” Keith replied, handing the gag back.

Lance smiled and removed Keith’s veil. He pushed the ball into Keith’s mouth and buckled the leather straps snugly behind his head, careful of the headscarf and wig, before placing the veil back onto Keith’s face.

“Is that good?”

“Hmmnf,” Keith nodded.

“Great.”

Lance grabbed his camera and the shoot resumed. As usual, Keith slipped into his role and struggled against the chains that bound him. Thin as they were, the chains held strong, and Keith was soon moaning and whimpering around the ball gag while he writhed in the chest.

Under Lance’s instructions, Keith tried a few different poses. He stretched his legs out, toes pointed daintily in the slippers and the manacles pulled taut. He raised his bound wrists up and behind his head, arching his spine to draw attention to the flat plane of his stomach. 

Mid-stretch, Keith heard a strangled sound. He shot a curious look over at Lance, concerned, but the photographer merely cleared his throat and waved at Keith to keep going.

At one point, Lance took off Keith’s veil, though the headscarf remained. Kneeling in front of the chest, Lance snapped closeups of Keith’s face while Keith did his best to look pretty.

“Beautiful,” Lance grinned. “Now, how would you feel about squeezing more into the chest?”

He explained what he had in mind, and once Keith agreed to the plan, Lance helped him reposition so that he was laying on his side, curled up in a ball so that his entire body fit inside the chest.

“Oh, one more thing.”

A strip of purple fabric that matched Keith’s pants fell over his eyes, and Keith couldn’t help but squirm as Lance tied the blindfold behind his head.

“Mmmnh,” Keith moaned.

The camera’s shutter clicked and clicked, and Keith soon found himself in an oddly content state of mind. Compacted as he was, his body instinctively pressed against the walls of the chest, and the solid resistance felt grounding. Keith stretched against soft velvet, reveling in the texture. He knew this chest was supposed to be his prison, but instead it felt safe, like a place to hide away from the world. 

Idly, he wondered if this was why cats liked being in boxes.

Keith heard footsteps draw closer, followed by Lance’s voice.

“Hey, I just had an idea. What if as a bonus for people who buy this photoset, we do a gif of the lid falling shut and trapping you inside?” Lance said. “There’s no lock, so you don’t have to worry about actually being trapped. You get the final say though, of course.”

After considering it, Keith nodded with a small, “Mmph.”

“Great! Hang tight for a second while I get it set up.”

As he listened to Lance putter around the studio, Keith returned to enjoying himself. He pressed his back and the soles of his feet against the inner walls of the chest, releasing a breathy moan at the pleasant burn in his muscles. Though the chest was large, there was barely any space for Keith to move, and the walls didn’t budge no matter how hard he pushed. It was a different feeling from being tied up, though similar, more of a push than a pull. Keith found he liked it.

He was still tied up too, of course, which the clinking chains reminded him every time he moved. That, combined with the gag, blindfold, and being in the chest, created an experience that was totally new and exciting.

Lance gave the signal and the lid fell shut.

Since he was already blindfolded, Keith hadn’t expected the chest closing to make much difference, but it was a whole new level of sensory deprivation. All the little sounds from the studio, from Lance’s breathing to the hum of the lights, disappeared, as did what little light filtered through the blindfold and Keith’s eyelids. Keith couldn’t speak, he couldn’t see or hear, and he could barely move. He was completely helpless.

And he loved it.

Suddenly, Keith felt a rush of air and sound returned to his senses. 

“Alright, we got it,” Lance said. “Let’s get you out of there.”

“Hmmnph,” Keith whined.

A pause, followed by a teasing, “Oh, is someone having fun?”

“Mmnn.”

“Fine, fine, you can stay in there for another five minutes while I start breaking down the set, but then we have to move on.”

“Nnf,” Keith nodded.

The lid shut once more, and Keith squirmed happily in the quiet darkness. It felt like more than five minutes had passed before Lance reopened the chest and helped him get out, but Keith had no way of knowing if Lance let him play longer than promised.

“Okay, so my idea for the final picture is by far the most complicated,” Lance said once Keith was free of his chains, “and you can totally say no if you don’t wanna do it.”

Keith quirked an eyebrow. “Is it bad that that intrigues me more than anything?”

He was rewarded with a grin as Lance pulled the final costume from the rack and handed it to Keith.

“I had a tough time deciding between Sheik’s outfit from Ocarina of Time and the Stealth set from Breath of the Wild,” Lance continued. “Sheik is the classic look, but let's be honest, Link’s Sheikah outfit is sexier, and in the end I decided that was more important.”

“Makes sense,” Keith nodded. “It doesn’t look that complicated though.” 

In fact, the bodysuit was a single article of clothing similar to a unitard. There were accessories that went over it, but there were fewer pieces than the previous costumes.

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about the clothes,” Lance said. “I was talking about the ropework.”

Keith swallowed. “Oh.”

Before he could question Lance further, Lance ushered him to go change. After removing the Gerudo outfit, Keith located the zipper that ran from the bodysuit’s neck down to the middle of its back and slipped it on. The torso portion was gray with a large, stylized eye emblazoned on the chest in crimson, which Keith knew from playing the game was the symbol of the Sheikah clan. The legs, arms, shoulders, and neck were a dark blue color accented with a few black lines. Even his feet were covered by the suit, though the toes and heels were the same gray as the torso.

Twisting in front of the mirror, Keith thought that the unitard comparison was apt. The costume’s fabric was soft and stretchy, and clung to Keith’s body like a second skin.

Next, the armor. Keith strapped on two leather shin guards as well as a pair of matching shoulder pauldrons. Another leather brace wrapped around his upper back to frame the sides of his chest, which Keith was pretty sure were just there for aesthetic purposes. Two thin leather belts went around his hips, one at a jaunty angle.

Keith pulled on a pair of fingerless gloves that matched the bodysuit, followed by leather vambraces that covered his forearms and the backs of his hands. He then wound a long strip of light gray cloth around each forearm on top of the vambraces.

He grabbed the matching gray scarf, and wrapped it around his neck before letting the loose ends fall down his back. After wrestling with the long, blond wig, Keith managed to pull it into a topknot and stuck two chopsticks into the bun. Finally, he grabbed the loose fabric of the bodysuit that hung around his neck and pulled it up so that the dark blue material covered his mouth and nose.

Examining his reflection once more, Keith had to admit he felt pretty badass.

He walked back to the studio and Lance’s face lit up.

“You look awesome!” he said.

Keith smiled, then realized Lance couldn’t see it under the mask. “Thanks.”

Lance flashed him another grin and returned to setting up. Keith studied the new set with curiosity. The backdrop was now a forest of cherry blossom trees in full bloom. It was gorgeous and looked hand painted. Keith made a mental note to ask Lance who the artist was so they could exchange notes.

Down on the ground, Lance was turning the stage floor into a field of grass and flowers, and Keith crouched down to poke at the replica of a Silent Princess. It was fake, of course, but looked surprisingly realistic.

“What’s the plan?” Keith asked when Lance finally stood up.

“Well, I was thinking,” Lance said, “The stealth gear is based on Sheik, and Sheik is a ninja, right?”

“Basically.”

“So,” grinning, Lance held up a coil of crimson rope, “I thought some shibari might be appropriate.”

He snapped the rope taut between his hands and Keith’s mouth went dry. Shibari was a Japanese style of bondage that focused on the artistry of creating intricate patterns while tying someone up. Keith had come across it in his research, but he was still getting the hang of regular knots so something like shibari was beyond his capabilities. 

That obviously wasn’t the case for Lance. He started by looping the rope around Keith’s waist, tying a knot above his hip. He then ran the rope down Keith’s leg and wrapped it around his thigh a few times before cinching it with another knot. He didn’t stop there. The rope was long and thin, and Lance had barely used any of it. Keith watched in fascination as Lance began to weave the rope down to the top of his knee, then across to his other thigh and back up to his waist to form a simple yet pleasing pattern of lines and knots. 

Keith wriggled experimentally. His thighs were bound together right beneath the swell of his ass, but the length of rope connecting his legs further down was longer, allowing him to part his knees somewhat. It felt a bit like wearing a harness, and Keith could probably walk around without much difficulty if he wanted to.

“Okay, now lay down on your stomach,” Lance said.

It was a little awkward, but Keith managed to obey. Lance pulled his arms behind his back and looped more rope around Keith’s biceps, tying each one individually and then connecting them together. Keith’s muscles ached pleasantly as he strained against these new bonds.

“That feel okay?” Lance asked. “Binding your upper arms can be more uncomfortable than your wrists.”

“It’s fine,” Keith said. There was still a decent amount of space between his arms, so they weren’t pulled too hard.

Lance nodded. He ran the rope down Keith’s spine to bind his forearms together and then his wrists. After cinching the last knot, Lance got up to retrieve something. Keith noted curiously that there was still quite a bit of rope left.

“This is a little redundant with the mask, but hey, some people will appreciate it,” Lance said.

He knelt down and tugged the cloth mask off of Keith’s face. Keith eagerly parted his lips so Lance could tuck a balled up handkerchief inside. He drew the mask back up over Keith’s nose and mouth, then tied another white strip of cloth over that to cover Keith’s lips. Keith couldn’t help releasing a happy little moan, wriggling as Lance knotted the white cloth tightly behind his head.

“Looks like you’re one of them,” Lance grinned.

“Mmph,” Keith agreed.

“Okay, we’re almost done.”

He grabbed yet another length of thin, red rope and tossed it up over one of the ceiling rafters. Lance slipped one end through the knots that bound Keith’s thighs, and bent Keith’s leg to bring his ankle closer so he could tie it in an upright position. He gave Keith’s other leg the same treatment, resulting in a pose similar to a hogtie.

Lance took the remaining length of the rope that bound Keith’s arms and tied that to the ceiling rope as well. All of the ropes were now connected, creating a pretty pattern of knots and lines.

“And now for the final touch,” Lance said with a wink.

He grabbed the long rope hanging from the other side of the rafter and pulled. Although Keith was expecting it, he still let out a muffled squeak when his arms, hips, and ankles were all lifted higher, forcing his knees and upper chest to support his weight.

Lance tied the rope to a hook on the floor and swept his gaze over Keith’s body. His eyes seemed to linger on Keith’s ass as it wiggled in the air, and Keith felt himself blush under his cloth mask.

Before his hopes could get too high, however, Lance quickly turned away and grabbed his camera.

“Okay, you know the drill,” Lance said. “Do what feels natural, and feel free to struggle all you like. You won’t be getting out of that.”

A jolt of heat pooled in Keith’s lower stomach at Lance’s words. The restraints did feel stricter than anything they’d done before, leaving no room for escape. Though he knew Lance would free him if he gave the signal, Keith let himself melt into the feeling of helplessness.

With a soft moan, he focused on the squeeze of the ropes around his body. When he tried to straighten his legs, it pulled at his arms. Swaying his hips caused the crisscrossing ropes to tighten their hold. At one point, his writhing made his knees slip further apart which meant more of Keith’s weight was supported by the harness around his thighs and hips, the rope biting into his skin.

“Hmmnh,” Keith whimpered.

All the while, the camera shutter clicked away.

“Good,” Lance murmured. “Now look at me.”

Obediently, Keith turned his head, the cold floor a balm against his flushed cheek. He managed to drag himself out of subspace just enough to shoot the camera a heated stare, writhing against his bonds with another muffled moan.

_ Click. _

“That’s it!” Lance said. “That was the one. Amazing work today, Keith, maybe your best yet.”

Warmth curled in Keith’s belly at the praise.

“How are you doing? Want me to untie you now?”

“Hnnmmh,” Keith pouted, wriggling in place.

Lance chuckled. “I had a feeling. I’ll put my camera equipment away and then let you go, okay?”

“Nnhnf.”

As promised, Lance began to pack away his things. Meanwhile, Keith happily sank back into subspace, pulling at the ropes and keening soft, little noises into his gag. 

All too soon, Lance returned. He carefully untied Keith and led him over to the studio couch, holding Keith’s elbow for support when he wobbled a bit. Lance unwound the gray cloth from Keith’s forearms and removed the leather vambraces so he could massage Keith’s wrists.

“So,” Lance said, “did you have fun?”

“Yeah,” Keith smiled as Lance rubbed oil into his skin. “I always do, but dressing up as a character I like made it extra fun.” He paused. “I kinda wanna replay Breath of the Wild now.” 

“I know what you mean,” Lance laughed. “I might take a break from Animal Crossing and switch over, even though it’s been months and I have no idea where I am in the game anymore.”

Keith perked up. “You play Animal Crossing?”

“Way more than I should, yeah.”

“Me too,” he squinted at Lance. “What kind of fruit do you have?”

“Cherries. You?”

“Peaches.”

“Nice. What about flowers?”

“My native flowers are lillies, but I got all the other kinds through trading.” 

Keith startled when Lance gasped loudly. Massage seemingly forgotten, he grabbed Keith’s hands and leaned closer.

“I’ve been looking all over for lillies!” he exclaimed. “None of my friends have them! Can I visit your island and get some?”

“Uh, sure,” Keith replied, somewhat dazed by the sudden proximity of Lance’s blue eyes.

“Great!” Lance flashed him a blinding grin. “Just text me when I can visit.”

“Okay.”

Keith glanced down at their joined hands, then back up at Lance. Lance finally seemed to realize how close they were and let go, scooting back with a small blush.

“Sorry,” he said, clearing his throat. “Aftercare now, video games later.”

With a small smile, Keith offered him his wrists. Lance resumed the massage, and the awkward silence slowly transformed back into the soft, companionable atmosphere that Keith loved about this part of the job. 

Once aftercare was done, Keith changed back into his normal clothes. They said their goodbyes, and Keith drove home, immediately collapsing on the couch with a loud groan. Today was fun, but he felt exhausted.

Kosmo hopped up next to him and laid his head on Keith’s lap. His eyes fell shut when Keith stroked his fur, tail wagging lazily through the air. They dozed for a little while before Keith’s rumbling stomach woke them both up.

They ate dinner (pasta for him and kibble for Kosmo) before flopping back onto the couch. Keith booted up his switch and texted Lance to see if he was free. Ten minutes later, Lance’s character walked through Keith’s airport gate.

Over the next few hours, Keith and Lance played Animal Crossing together. They traded fruit and flowers, and Keith gave Lance a tour of his island. Lance freaked out when he met one of Keith’s cat villagers, which Keith didn’t understand until Lance sent him a link, because apparently Raymond was so popular people would spend literal hundreds of real-life dollars to get him. Keith just thought he was cute.

Speaking of cute, Lance’s character was adorable. It looked like him, and even had a jacket that resembled the one Lance wore all the time in real life. Lance told Keith he had spent over an hour designing it. Keith showed Lance his own gallery of custom designs, which Lance ooh-ed and ahh-ed over. Pixel art wasn’t Keith’s area of expertise, but he thought they turned out well.

They hung out at the outdoor cafe Keith built. Lance spammed all the emotes he had unlocked, which should have been annoying but just made Keith laugh. When asked if he wanted to see Lance’s island, Keith said yes despite how tired he was.

Midnight came and went, but Keith barely noticed. He was just happy to spend time with Lance, even if it was in a game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was surprisingly difficult for me, haha. I’m obsessed with Zelda and knew I wanted to use multiple outfits from it, but it took a while to figure out the scenarios for each one. I’m pretty pleased with the end results though.
> 
> Shameless self plug, but if you’re like me and love both Zelda and klance, I wrote a fic called The Lion’s Flute last year. It’s a Zelda AU with Keith playing the role of Sheik and Lance as Link, though it’s not based on a specific game. I poured a lot of love into it and even made fanart, so if you’d like to see Keith in the Sheikah outfit (the last one he wore) please check it out!
> 
> (also I’ve been playing way too much animal crossing and if anyone wants to be friends hmu in the comments or on tumblr >_>)
> 
> See you next time! (๑¯◡¯๑)


	8. Cat Burglar/Maid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! (๑¯◡¯๑)

Between work, helping Shiro with wedding plans, and hanging out with Lance via texting and video games, time seemed to fly by, and before Keith knew it he was back in Lance’s studio. 

“Since the last shoot was pretty elaborate, I thought we should do something simple today,” Lance said. He shot Keith a wink. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t be sexy.”

Rolling his eyes, Keith took the costume with a smile. Upon examining the black leather ensemble, he raised an eyebrow.

“A burglar?”

“A cat burglar,” Lance corrected. “Literally.”

He handed Keith a cat ear headband. Keith snorted and went to change.

The costume was indeed simple. First, Keith slipped on a pair of shiny, black leather pants, the material of which was thin and clung to his legs like a second skin. He shrugged on the matching jacket and zipped it up to his sternum, leaving a large patch of skin on display around his collarbones. 

After that, the only things left were accessories. Keith buckled a leather belt studded with silver around his hips, and pulled on buttery soft fingerless gloves. A long, thin cat tail hung from the back of the belt, swaying with every move he made. As Keith laced up the knee-high boots, he couldn’t help but think how impractical high heels were for thieving.

Finally, he placed the black domino mask on his face, and settled the cat ears onto his head, fiddling with his hair to try to hide the headband part as best he could. A quick touch of makeup, and he returned to the studio.

The set was fairly simple as well. It looked like a private study room that someone on the wealthier side of life might have in their house, with a full bookshelf, a mahogany desk, a sleek white couch, and a plush rug that covered the wooden floor. A large painting hung at the center of the backdrop, which Keith recognized as one of his own abstract paintings he’d sold to Lance a few weeks back. Keith had wondered at the time if Lance wanted it for a shoot or just to hang in his apartment. Guess that answered that question.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Lance said, nodding at the painting. “I usually have that in my living room, but I realized it was the perfect size and color palette for this set. We can use something else if you want.”

“Oh,” Keith blinked, a warm feeling growing in his chest. “That’s okay, I don’t mind.”

While Lance began to explain the scene, Keith tried to pay attention and not get distracted by the revelation that Lance hung Keith’s art somewhere where he would see it every day. It wasn’t a big deal. Most people placed art where they could see it, that was the whole point, so why did Keith feel like Lance just told him he won a new puppy?

“Does that make sense?” Lance asked, snapping Keith out of his internal flailing.

“Yeah,” Keith hastily nodded. He’d only caught about half of what Lance said, but it sounded easy enough, and Lance usually walked him through it during the shoot anyway.

“Cool, ready to start?”

Keith nodded again. When given the signal, he stealthily snuck onto the stage, stopping every few steps to glance around with wary eyes. He tried to put some feline grace in his movements, and recalled how characters like Catwoman walked. 

Once he made it to the painting, Keith took one last look around and then carefully lifted the canvas off of the wall to reveal a hidden safe. 

“Good,” Lance said. “Now it’s time to work your magic.”

He hovered around Keith to snap pictures from different angles as Keith pretended to break into the safe. For one close-up shot, Keith let what he hoped was a catlike smirk curl his lips, and when Lance moved behind him for a wider angle, Keith stuck his ass out a bit more than necessary, swaying his hips to give the cat tail a sense of movement.

Lance cleared his throat and said, “Okay, that’s enough. Next, unbeknownst to you, the owner of the safe has caught you red handed, and sneaks up to capture you. I was going to have another model fill the role, but he canceled at the last minute, so we’ll have to figure something else out.”

“That’s too bad,” Keith said.

Lance sighed. “Yeah, we really need a second person for what I wanted to do. I tried calling a couple other models, but no one was available, even when I said it would only be for a couple of shots.”

Keith hummed. “Well, if it’s just for a couple of shots…” he bit his lip. This was probably a very bad idea, but Keith’s mouth raced ahead of his brain, “could you do it?”

Shit. Why did he say that? Of course Lance couldn’t do that, he had to take the photos, plus it would be weird for him to model with Keith, right? Keith already had a strong reaction to doing this with Lotor, if Lance did it he’d probably die.

Unfortunately for Keith’s sanity, Lance seemed to actually be considering it.

“I guess it’s possible,” he said. “Since the role is so minor, I could just use a tripod. I’ll have to throw on a different outfit real quick. Do you mind waiting?”

Keith shook his head and Lance ducked out of the studio. While he waited, Keith collapsed onto the sofa with a groan. Why was he so stupid? He could only hope whatever Lance’s plan was didn’t make Keith do anything super embarrassing.

Lance returned a few minutes later, and Keith had to remind himself to breathe. His eyes raked up and down Lance’s body, taking in the crisp, white shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly up to his elbows, the pale blue waistcoat that accentuated his broad shoulders and trim hips, and the dark slacks that made Lance’s legs look even longer than usual. He had even slicked his hair back, making him look a bit like a mob boss, and it was doing funny things to Keith’s heart.

“I know, I know,” Lance grinned sheepishly. “Not exactly a costume but it’s the best I had on short notice. The viewers won’t be paying much attention to me anyway.”

“Um, no,” Keith blinked rapidly, internally shrieking at his brain to get back online. “You look good.”

“Oh,” a small blush painted Lance’s cheeks and he shot Keith a wink. “Thanks, you’re looking pretty hot yourself.”

While Lance set up the tripod, Keith desperately tried to get his treacherous body to calm down. 

“Ready?” Lance asked.

Keith nodded. “What’s the plan?”

“Once you get the safe open, I’m gonna sneak up behind you,” Lance said. “While you’re distracted by your loot, I’ll grab you and chloroform you.”

A spike of arousal jolted through Keith’s lower stomach. “Chloroform?”

“Well, it won’t be real chloroform,” Lance explained. “That can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, so we’re just gonna fake it.”

“Oh,” Keith tried not to show his disappointment. “Okay.”

Under Lance’s instructions, he returned to position. The camera was set up to his right so it would get a side view of the action, and the shutter clicked every few seconds. 

Keith slipped back into character, fiddling with the safe. He pressed the side of his head against the cool metal like he was listening to it with one of his cat ears. Pretending to hear a click, Keith swung the safe open with a self-satisfied smirk and began to rummage around inside. 

Busy stuffing the fake money and documents into his bag, Keith didn’t hear Lance come up behind him, and his squeak of surprise was genuine when a large hand suddenly clamped a folded up handkerchief over his mouth. Lance’s other arm wrapped around Keith’s waist, pinning his arms to his sides, and he spun them around to face the camera.

“Hmmnfh!” Keith said as he wriggled in Lance’s hold. Lance pressed the cloth more firmly over his nose and mouth. “Mmhhn!”

“Good, keep struggling,” Lance murmured in his ear. 

A shiver ran down Keith’s spine. He squirmed in earnest, but quickly realized Lance was a lot stronger than he looked. Keith finally managed to get one of his arms free and tried to pry Lance’s hand from his mouth, only for Lance to let go of his waist and snatch Keith’s wrist, swiftly pinning it behind his back.

“Mmmmhh,” Keith moaned.

Ever since they started this new arrangement, Keith had enjoyed being tied up in a variety of ways, each more thrilling than the last, but this was something different. Even modeling with Lotor hadn’t been the same. It was like Keith was hyper aware that the strong arms holding him captive belonged to Lance. He could feel Lance’s chest expand against his back as he fought to keep Keith in his embrace, his breaths growing ragged. Keith’s wrist burned where Lance held it in an unforgiving grip, and his protests were efficiently muffled by the unyielding cloth Lance pressed against his lips.

“Perfect,” Lance said in that low voice that made Keith shudder. “Now slowly pretend to fall asleep. Don’t worry, I won’t drop you.”

Keith let his eyes flutter shut, and his limbs grow heavy. True to his word, Lance readjusted his hold so he could support Keith’s weight, slowly lowering them both until Lance kneeled on the floor with Keith slumped against his chest.

They stayed like that for a long moment, the only sounds being their breathing and the steady _ click click click _ of the camera. Keith didn’t know what Lance was doing, but he trusted him so he kept his eyes closed and waited.

He definitely wasn’t hoping Lance would kiss him, and he most certainly wasn’t disappointed when instead Lance cleared his throat and said, “Okay, let’s move on.”

Lance retrieved his camera and snapped a few pictures of Keith laying on the floor “unconscious.” Once Lance was satisfied, he let Keith take a break to rest and drink some water.

“What comes next?” Keith asked.

“Now that the tables have turned and you’ve been captured by your would-be victim,” Lance grinned and held up a thick roll of shiny, crimson tape, “it’s time for the fun part.”

He directed Keith to sit on the small, white sofa on stage. Heat curled in Keith’s lower stomach at the loud _ skrrrrt _ noise when Lance peeled a long strip of tape free from the roll. He wrapped it around Keith’s ankles over his boots and began looping the roll around and around until the binding was several layers thick. Lance tore the strip free before moving up Keith’s legs to repeat the process above and below Keith’s knees. When Keith tested the bindings’ strength, he found his legs were tightly stuck together.

Next, Lance pulled Keith’s arms behind his back so that his forearms rested horizontally parallel to each other. After confirming with Keith that the position was comfortable enough, Lance bound his wrists together with more red tape. His movements were careful but efficient, and Keith squirmed in place as the layers of tape became stricter, firmly holding his arms in place.

Lance then wrapped tape around Keith’s torso, pinning his biceps to his sides and restricting Keith’s movement even more. A soft moan escaped from Keith’s throat.

“There,” Lance said. “All pretty.”

Looking down at himself, Keith had to admit the shiny, red tape contrasted nicely with Keith’s shiny, black outfit, both glinting under the studio lights. 

“I thought we’d continue the theme and do a tape wrap gag with a ball gag underneath,” Lance said. “The tape is made specifically for this kinda thing, so it won’t fuck up your hair.”

“Okay,” Keith said. Anticipation made his heart beat even faster. He didn’t wear multiple gags at once very often, but the concept was definitely something that peaked his interest.

He opened his mouth so Lance could push the red ball gag behind his teeth. It was smaller than most, but Keith supposed that wouldn’t matter once the tape covered it. At least it wouldn’t make his jaw ache too much.

Lance tore the beginning of a new strip off the roll and pressed it over Keith’s lips. Keith held still as Lance carefully wound the tape behind his head and back around the front, looping around and around, each added layer muffling Keith’s voice more and more until all that could escape were the tiniest moans and whimpers. Like his bindings, the tape gag was snug, and the pressure delicious.

Ripping the tape off the roll, Lance smoothed the end over Keith’s mouth, and Keith tried not to shudder at the feeling of Lance’s fingertips brushing against his lips through the gag.

“Red really is your color,” Lance smirked. His blue eyes lit up. “Oh, I almost forgot!”

He ran off the stage to rummage through one of the closets that held various props and supplies, then returned with a sly grin.

“This kitty cat’s not a stray anymore.”

He held up a thin, black leather collar. Small silver studs dotted one side and a large bell hung down from the middle.

Blushing furiously, Keith allowed Lance to buckle the collar around his neck. The silver bell rested against the hollow of his throat.

Lance helped Keith lay down on his side, curled up slightly due to the length of the sofa, and retrieved his camera. Keith closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

“Good, good,” Lance said, snapping more pictures. “Now wake up.”

Keith slipped back into the mindset of his character. With a small moan, his eyelashes fluttered open, and he blearily glanced around. Confusion quickly turned into alarm, and Keith began to frantically struggle against his bonds, his little gasps and whimpers muffled by the gag. How could this have happened? Who did this to him? And what were they going to do next?

The silver bell jingled as Keith writhed in place, turning onto his stomach to try to get his legs underneath him. He only partly succeeded, and ended up kneeling on the couch with his ass in the air and one side of his face still pressed against the cushions. Biting down on the ball gag, Keith let out a frustrated moan and swayed his hips, feeling the cat tail brush against the back of his legs.

Lance took several more pictures, and walked around the couch to get different angles while Keith continued to struggle. Keith wriggled back onto his side, then worked his way to one of the sofa’s arm rests to try to sit up properly. When that didn’t work, he flopped onto his back with a huff.

“Having trouble?” Lance teased.

“Hmnf,” Keith pouted.

“I got a ton of great shots, so we can move on,” Lance said. “Let’s see, next your captor comes into the room and you see him for the first time.” He stepped back and held up the camera. “Just pretend I’m him.”

Staring into the lens, Keith focused on Lance’s appearance. He was still wearing the mafia clothes so it wasn’t hard to imagine Lance as his hot, mysterious kidnapper, and Keith tried to convey both fear and arousal in his expression.

“Perfect,” Lance said. “Now, after watching you squirm, your captor reveals what plans he has in store for his new pet.”

Grabbing something off the clothes rack, Lance held the item in front of the camera, presumably so it would be in the shot next to Keith’s shocked face.

It was a french maid dress, complete with a tiny apron and an obscenely short looking skirt with way too many frilly petticoats. Eyeing the outfit, Keith felt a dark blush spread across his face.

_ Click. _

“Yes!” Lance grinned. Seeing Keith’s confusion, he added, “Oh, sorry. I would’ve told you about the costume change but I wanted to get your genuine reaction. I hope you don’t mind.”

Keith shook his head. Lance snapped a few more photos before coming over to free Keith so he could change. Warning him to stay still, Lance cut the tape from Keith’s legs, arms, and torso.

“The gag I’ll have to unwind the long way,” Lance said. “Don’t wanna use scissors so close to your face. The easiest thing would be to just leave it on for the next scene, but if you need a break I totally understand. Besides,” he winked, “putting the gag back on is fun too.”

With a muffled hum, Keith considered it. It was true that he would enjoy the process of being gagged again, but the gag itself felt really comfortable at the moment and he was reluctant to take it off if he didn’t have to. He wasn’t feeling thirsty or anything either, so he shook his head with a small, “Mm-mm.”

“Okay,” Lance said. “Just let me know if you want to remove it for any reason.”

With a noise of agreement, Keith took the new costume and returned to the bathroom. Once he’d stripped out of the cat burglar clothes, Keith took a moment to examine his reflection in the mirror, nude apart from his underwear, the cat ears, the collar, and the red tape wrapped around his mouth.

Almost shyly, he brought his hands up to trace his fingers over the smooth tape, feeling the pressure against his lips. He watched as his own eyes darkened, and couldn’t stop a small moan from escaping, though the gag muffled it well.

Though Keith had experimented plenty on his own by now, his foray into self-bondage and gags were never as elaborate as what Lance did. This was by design, since Keith didn’t want to accidentally put himself in a situation he couldn’t get out of, which could be humiliating at best and dangerous at worst. However, while Keith liked being tied up and gagged by Lance the best, it always started and finished on set, so he never had the chance to play with it on his own like this.

The wrap gag really was beautiful. Lance had been careful to line the tape up neatly when he wound it around Keith’s head, so only a few layers peeked out at an angle, just enough to make the nature of the gag obvious. He lifted Keith’s hair out of the way, too, so it fell down around his face and over the back of the gag.

The ball gag was equally snug, and Keith could feel the shape of the rubber ball and the leather strap buckled beneath the tape with his fingers. The combination muffled any loud noises with an efficiency that sparked a thrill down Keith’s spine.

Figuring he’d spent enough time admiring himself, Keith turned to his next costume. The maid uniform was just as scandalous as it looked, though as with all the outfits he wore for Lazuli, it was made of high quality material. The undershirt was a crisp white with short, puffy sleeves, and the petticoats fell down just far enough to cover the swell of his ass. The dress itself was black with subtle patterns embroidered across the bodice and skirt, and a long, thin ribbon laced up the front like a corset. Keith also found a matching sash that acted as a belt and had another cat tail attached.

Black, thigh-high stockings left a strip of skin bare between them and the skirt, and the high heeled shoes were once again inappropriate for the job. Keith readjusted the cat ear headband, made sure his makeup was still intact, and returned to the studio.

Lance was still on set, one hip propped against the desk while he scrolled through something on his phone. When Keith walked closer, Lance glanced up and froze. Slowly, his gaze roamed over Keith’s form from head to toe, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Head tilted, Keith gave him a curious, “Hnnf?”

Lance blinked. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then looked away, clearing his throat with a small blush high on his cheekbones.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice raspy in a way that made Keith’s toes curl. “You just...I didn’t expect...um, let’s get back to it, huh?”

Confused and more than a little flustered, Keith allowed Lance to usher him back to the sofa where a set of cuffs waited. They were made of rich, dark red leather, one pair for Keith’s legs and a slightly smaller, thinner pair for his arms. A thin chain connected Keith’s wrists together, and another one connected his ankles, long enough to let him walk provided he took small steps.

With a shit-eating grin, Lance placed a feather duster in Keith’s palm. “You know what to do.”

Keith rolled his eyes but obligingly shuffled around the set and brushed imaginary dust off the furniture while the camera clicked away. With encouragement from Lance, Keith pushed up on his tiptoes to clean the top of the bookshelf, posing his legs at a seductive angle. Next, he bent over and felt the short petticoats rise up just enough to give the viewer a taste of what was underneath. Judging by the choking noise behind him, it worked. Keith hid a smirk behind his gag.

His cleaning took Keith across the stage and over to the large desk, where Lance had him “accidentally” knock over a stack of files. Donning a panicked expression, Keith kneeled down to clean up the mess.

“Uh oh,” Lance sang. “Looks like someone’s gonna be in trouble.”

Heat pooled in Keith’s lower stomach when Lance explained what he wanted to do next. Once again hoping he didn’t make a fool of himself, Keith agreed to the plan and Lance set up the tripod.

Anticipation thrummed in Keith’s veins when Lance stepped onto the set, his blue eyes serious as he slipped into character. He looked down at Keith with a sneer, taking in the folders and papers scattered around him. From his place on the floor, Keith could only stare up at Lance and wait for his judgement.

Suddenly, Lance reached out and grabbed a fistful of Keith’s hair, using his grip to pull Keith back to his feet. Even though Keith was expecting it, he couldn’t stop a muffled yelp from escaping his gagged lips, nor could he deny the lightning bolt of arousal that jolted from his scalp all the way down to his toes. 

While the camera continued taking pictures, Lance dragged Keith closer to the desk where he used his free arm to sweep what little remained on it to the floor. Keith was so lost in the haze of subspace by this point that he barely put up a fight when Lance manhandled him to lay across the mahogany surface.

Lance forced Keith’s arms up over his head, hooking the chain of the handcuffs to something on the side of the desk. Keith writhed in place with a pitiful moan, but couldn’t lower his arms.

When nothing else happened, Keith opened his eyes to see Lance staring down at him. Gone was the focused glint in his eyes, replaced by something else that Keith’s blissed out mind couldn’t quite interpret. 

Lance seemed to come back to himself, and cleared his throat.

“Uh, give me a second to check if those shots turned out alright and then I’ll set up the crane.”

Keith nodded and Lace disappeared from sight. While he waited, Keith enjoyed his new position. Laying on the desk like this, bound and gagged, made him think of the first photoshoot that started everything. Keith had come a long way since then. The bondage was more elaborate, as was the costume, and Keith himself felt much more secure in this exploration in kink. Back then it was all so new, but now he was more than happy to try whatever Lance threw at him.

And that wasn’t even taking into consideration how much closer he and Lance had become. They barely knew each other back then, more co-workers than anything, and now Keith considered Lance one of his best friends.

He wondered if Lance felt the same way.

Before he could ponder it much further, Lance’s camera rolled into view, held directly above Keith on the crane mechanism. Lance’s upside down face soon reappeared as well when he leaned in from above Keith’s head.

“Okay, Kitten,” Lance smirked, “time for your punishment.”

Holy shit. Keith hadn’t thought he could get more turned on at this point but clearly that wasn’t the case. Staring up at Lance with wide eyes, Keith was glad he was gagged because otherwise he probably would have said something horribly embarrassing. That, or just a strangled scream because he was _ dying. _ Thankfully whatever noise crawled its way up Keith’s throat was thoroughly quelled.

“Behold,” Lance continued, seemingly oblivious to how he was killing Keith, “the instrument of your destruction!”

With a dramatic flourish, he presented...a cat toy. It was a long, thin stick with a handful of feathers attached to one end. 

“...Mmnf?”

“Oh, it may not look like much,” Lance said sagely, “but just you wait and see.”

He started around Keith’s face, brushing the feathers against Keith’s cheeks as lightly as a whisper. Keith growled in annoyance, to which Lance responded by booping him on the nose with the toy. 

Lance then dragged the toy down Keith’s neck. Jingling filled the air as he played with the bell on Keith’s collar before he wiggled the feathers over the skin beneath Keith’s chin, causing Keith to squirm in place with a muffled giggle.

When Lance finally showed mercy, Keith shot him a glare, his cheeks pink. Lance merely smirked, and brushed the feathered toy down Keith’s torso, drawing patterns across the laced bodice as he went. 

Keith had to admit, it was oddly...seductive. He could barely feel the pressure through his clothes, yet the sight of Lance moving the cat toy over Keith’s body like a paintbrush on a canvas was definitely doing something for him. Maybe it was the look in Lance’s eyes as he worked, half-lidded and focused. Maybe it was just because it was Lance.

Whatever the reason, Keith’s breath hitched when he felt the feathers brush against the bare patch of skin on his thigh between his skirt and stockings. His spine stretched in a languid arch, a small whimper disappearing into his gag while Lance teased the sensitive skin. It certainly didn’t help that Lance now stood between Keith’s legs where they hung off the side of the desk.

For better or worse, Keith was soon distracted from thoughts of what Lance could do in such a position when a large, warm hand suddenly grasped the inside of Keith’s knee and bent his leg up towards his chest. Keith’s eyes widened in horror, but he was helpless to stop Lance from attacking the back of Keith’s thigh with the cat toy.

“Mnngh!” Keith shrieked. He began to struggle in earnest against the handcuffs. “Hmmn nmmf mmh!”

The camera clicked away, uncaring as Lance continued to torture Keith. Tears gathered at the corners of Keith’s eyes, his whole body wracked with laughter.

“Hhmmngmmf!”

“What’s that?” Lance asked, looking far too pleased with himself. “You’ve learned your lesson?”

Keith frantically nodded and the tickling ceased. He took a moment to catch his breath and shot a scowl up at Lance, though Keith had a feeling it was undermined by the redness of his face and the tears dotting his eyelashes.

“Ohh, nice expression,” Lance said. “That’s going in the album for sure.”

Ignoring Keith’s grumble, Lance walked around the desk to unattach the handcuffs. 

“Alright, we’re ready for the final shot,” he said, helping Keith sit up. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this one since it puts a bit more focus on my character, but let’s try it. I can always decide not to use it later.”

With gentle hands, Lance unbuckled the cuffs around Keith’s wrists and ankles, then helped him walk over to the sofa.

“Let’s get that gag off of you,” he said. “You can rest and drink some water while i prepare the set.”

Keith nodded. Lance sat next to him and began to carefully peel the tape from Keith’s mouth. As he unwound each layer, the adhesive pulled slightly at the tape underneath even while the pressure around his head loosened. It was oddly satisfying, and somewhat arousing.

Lance finally pulled the bottom layer from Keith’s lips and removed the ball gag. Stretching his jaw and tongue, Keith was surprised to find they didn’t feel sore despite wearing the gag for so long. A stray thought wondered how much longer he could have worn it, but he quickly quashed it down. Now wasn’t the time.

“Feeling alright?” Lance asked. 

“Yeah,” Keith said, his voice a bit rough. He gratefully accepted a water bottle from Lance and took a long sip. “That might be my favorite gag so far.”

“Noted,” Lance winked.

A blush rose to Keith’s cheeks, but luckily Lance was already standing up to adjust the set. Keith drank more water and watched him drag a large, expensive looking armchair to the middle of the stage. Lance then carried in an ornate cushion, which he placed on the floor next to the chair.

Turning to Keith with another shit-eating grin, Lance pointed to the cushion and said, “Sit, boy.”

Keith’s face burst into flame, and he shot Lance a scowl. “I thought I was a cat, not a dog.”

“Oh, good point,” Lance looked skyward in thought. “Umm, here, kitty kitty kitty?”

With a roll of his eyes, Keith walked over to kneel on the cushion. He straightened out his dress to make sure the skirt and petticoats fell neatly over his legs, then looked back up at Lance.

“Okay, now what?”

Lance didn’t answer, staring at Keith with wide eyes. Keith glanced down at himself, wondering if he did something wrong.

“Um, Lance?” he asked tentatively.

Giving himself a little shake, Lance closed his mouth with an audible click. Fascinated, Keith watched Lance’s cheeks turn pink as he dug something out of his pocket. Keith looked at the object and felt his own face grow warm. Again.

“If you’re not comfortable with it, that’s okay,” Lance said, not quite meeting his eyes. “The photo will still look good without it.”

Keith swallowed, then licked his lips. In his focus on the item in Lance’s hand, he didn’t notice blue eyes dart down to follow the swipe of his tongue.

“No, it’s fine,” Keith said. “I don’t mind.”

Lance kneeled in front of Keith so they were at eye level. Heart racing a mile a minute, Keith tipped his head up, baring his throat, and Lance clipped the thin, leather leash onto his collar. A shiver ran down Keith’s spine when Lance’s fingers brushed against his skin, and the bell gave a small chime.

For the finishing touch, Lance slipped another ball gag into Keith’s mouth. It was bigger than the last one, but not horribly so, and Lance didn’t add another kind of gag on top of it.

With the camera once again clicking on a timer, Lance sat down on the armchair, one long leg crossed over the other and one elbow propped on the armrest to support his chin on the back of his hand. His other hand held the end of Keith’s leash. Staring at the lens with cool eyes, he looked every inch the mob boss he was pretending to be, and it took every molecule of Keith’s willpower not to throw himself into Lance’s lap.

He was tested even further when Lance’s free hand reached over and started to pet Keith’s hair. Blunt nails ran across his scalp, and Keith’s eyes fluttered shut with a low moan.

“Oh?” That hand slid down to grasp Keith’s chin and tilted his face up to meet Lance’s amused gaze. “Are you purring?”

“Hmmnhh,” Keith replied, his mind foggy.

A thumb swept over his jaw, strong but gentle, accompanied by a chuckle that made Keith’s insides turn to goo.

“Good, Kitten,” the wonderful voice said. “Very good.”

Keith wasn’t sure how long he basked in the warm haze of subspace, but by the time he resurfaced he found himself sitting on the couch. Not the one on set, but the studio couch often used for aftercare. With a slow blink, Keith realized the collar, leash, and ball gag were already gone, and gentle hands were rubbing the ache from his wrists.

“Keith?” Lance asked cautiously.

“Lance?” Keith frowned, trying to get his bearings. “What happened?”

“Oh, thank god,” Lance said. “You were...pretty out of it for a few minutes. I basically had to carry you over here.”

“Oh,” mortification curled in Keith’s gut. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it was my fault,” Lance hastily shook his head. “I should have noticed when the scene got too intense and insisted we stop.”

They lapsed into an awkward silence for a moment before Keith asked, “Did you at least get the photos you wanted?”

“Oh yeah,” Lance grinned. “These are gonna sell like hotcakes.”

Keith smiled back, relieved. Through an unspoken agreement, they decided not to talk about his embarrassing trip to subspace and continued the aftercare. Though honestly, when Lance’s magic fingers began massaging Keith’s jaw, Keith feared he might slip right back into that lovely fog.

“Hey, um,” Lance’s soft voice pulled Keith back to reality, “I really am sorry. I didn’t realize how far you’d gone.”

Keith bit his lip. “Is it weird if I said I’m glad you didn’t? It was...nice.”

“Subspace can be an amazing experience,” Lance said, “but you should go into it with explicit consent. We didn’t talk much about boundaries or safewords, because I didn’t think things would go so far, and that’s on me.”

“I probably should have said something when I felt more, well...more,” Keith said. “So you’re not totally to blame. I don’t blame you.”

Lance smiled, his thumbs still brushing the underside of Keith’s jawline while his fingertips kneading the back of his neck. “In that case, let’s just promise to communicate better going forward. It’ll be easier for me to recognize an issue when I’m behind the camera anyway.”

Keith nodded. He tried to quell his disappointment that Lance probably wouldn’t model with him again any time soon. Then again, maybe that was for the best, given what just happened.

“So,” Lance said cheerfully while he kneaded Keith’s shoulders, “did I tell you I finally got Bob to move to my island?”

\-----

A week later, alone in his apartment with the door securely locked because he was paranoid, Keith made an account on Lazuli. While he wasn’t ashamed of his work as a model, Keith felt self-conscious whenever he spotted himself in one of the thumbnails, so he generally avoided the website. Keith had been arguing with himself over the past few days until he finally broke.

Locating his most recent album, Keith clicked on the purchase button and inputted his payment information. The file started downloading and Keith told himself that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. He’d made sure to pick a username that wouldn’t be traced back to him, and he knew no one would see his credit card info. Besides, it wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong. These were pictures of himself, after all. Lance probably would have given Keith the album for free if he asked.

Doing so was out of the question, but the point remained.

The file finished downloading, and Keith opened it with bated breath. Immediately, he was faced with a large picture of himself dressed in the cat burglar costume, looking out the screen with a pleading expression while bound and gagged on the couch.

Staring at the cover art, Keith felt heat rush up to his cheeks and down to his lower stomach. He rarely bothered to look at the final results of his modeling work, but as he clicked through the album he had to admit it wasn’t bad. Lance obviously edited the photos with cropping and color correction, which gave them a more professional sheen, but from what Keith could tell they weren’t photoshopped beyond that, and the artist in Keith admired Lance’s use of different angles and the composition of the set within the frame.

Then, finally, he got to the part he was looking for, the entire reason he secretly bought his own photoset: Lance’s character.

Keith’s eyes greedily soaked in every detail. He clicked through the photos at a much slower pace, admiring the strong lines of Lance’s body while he held Keith captive in his arms. Keith risked a glance at his own face and his cheeks grew warmer still. The Keith in the picture looked absolutely wrecked, pupils blown wide as he struggled against Lance.

With a dry swallow, Keith decided to focus on Lance for the remainder of the album.

Lance really was talented. Even with the camera stationary on a tripod, he’d been able to frame the shot to draw attention to Keith rather than himself, much to Keith’s chagrin. In half the pictures, Lance’s face was partially obscured in shadow or cropped out altogether. It made his character seem more mysterious and cool, but disappointed Keith who was hoping to find a shot of that focused expression he loved so much.

He made it to the end of the photoset and sighed. Oh well, there were still some great shots of Lance in his mob boss outfit for Keith to ogle, plus several of himself that he couldn’t deny got him excited, even if part of him still felt a bit weird about it. Keith clicked on the last picture and went still.

Despite knowing what to expect, the image of Lance sitting regally on the armchair like it was a throne hit Keith like a truck. Zooming in, Keith stared at those crystal blue eyes, narrowed and self-assured, and a strangled whimper crept up Keith’s throat.

The sight of himself on the floor next to Lance didn’t help. Keith didn’t remember much from that scene apart from the fog of subspace, but Keith in the picture looked completely blissed out, like he would do anything Lance asked with a snap of his fingers.

Probably because he would. Keith wasn’t _ that _ good of an actor.

With a deep, shuddering breath, Keith closed his laptop, grabbed his lube and a vibrator, and crawled onto his bed. As he began to touch himself, Keith desperately hoped he’d be still able to look Lance in the eyes next time they saw each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, Keith, you’re not the only one. Lance was internally screaming during that shoot too, lmao.
> 
> Does this fic count as slowburn yet? They’ll get there soon, I swear! On the plus side, Keith has discovered some of Lance’s kinks now too~
> 
> Also, after that album came out several Lazuli members commented, asking if Lance would be in more shoots. Lance was flattered, but told them he was too busy working on the other side of the camera. (He might change his mind if it’s with Keith though, hehe)
> 
> See you next time! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/


	9. Merman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t quite feel up to writing an entire fic for Lance’s birthday this year, unfortunately, but I wanted to post SOMETHING, so here it is. As you can guess from the chapter title, this photoshoot is not birthday themed, but it IS summer-appropriate and something Lance is into, haha. 
> 
> Happy birthday, Lance! ヾ(´▽｀*)ﾉ☆

Almost a month and a half passed before Keith’s next photoshoot. Keith was kind of glad to be honest, since it gave him time to cool off after the last one, and he and Lance still kept in almost constant contact via texting.

Still, he was happy to see Lance’s familiar face in person again when he let Keith into his apartment.

“Hey, man,” Lance greeted cheerfully. “Ready to get started?”

Keith nodded and set his canvas bag down by the door. Nerves made Keith’s stomach flutter when Lance gave it a curious look, but he thankfully didn’t pry. 

“You’re gonna love today’s set,” Lance told him as he led Keith into the studio. “Hunk really went all out.”

He gestured at the stage with a flourish, and Keith’s eyebrows rose. A colorful coral reef covered the floor, filled with sea anemones, sponges, and different types of coral. Star fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other types of sea creatures were dotted across the set, and the backdrop made the reef seem like it extended for miles. Keith noticed that Lance had placed some kind of colored filters over the studio lights, which slowly swiveled back and forth, giving the illusion of sunlight being cast down through ocean waves.

Keith crouched down to take a closer look at the reef and discovered it was made primarily of foam and paper mache. “How many times did you make Hunk watch Finding Nemo for this?”

Spluttering, Lance opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and finally admitted, “Four. But,” he added over Keith’s laughter, “Hunk didn’t even mind because that movie is a delight!”

“It is pretty great,” Keith agreed. “So what am I, a mermaid?”

“Got it in one,” Lance said.

He presented a long mermaid tail like the ones Keith vaguely remembered seeing online that people could actually swim with. The scales were a blend of dark red and black, with a swirling gold pattern that reminded him of a koi fish. Long, translucent fins brushed the floor, ruffled and tapered like those of a beta fish, or maybe even an aquatic dragon. 

Lance handed Keith the tail along with a small pile of accessories and said, “Let me know when you’re finished dressing. I’ll carry you back here.”

Keith nodded.

Once in the bathroom, he quickly stripped out of his clothes. The costume didn’t include a shirt, which he supposed made sense, so Keith began to don the various pieces of jewelry Lance had given him. Everything was ocean themed, of course; a gold pendant shaped like a seashell, armbands engraved with a wave pattern, mother of pearl earrings. 

The wig Lance picked out matched the color of Keith’s real hair, but fell down to his hips in elegant waves. Once the raven tresses were firmly attached to his head, Keith picked up what was by far the most elaborate piece of the costume. 

It was a crown. The frame was a sturdy gold colored metal, and countless tiny jewels, seashells, and pearls were cloistered together to form several symmetrical points, each one higher than the last, leading up to the tallest middle point at the front. When Keith settled it on his head, two pairs of thin, gold chains looped down from either side of the crown to rest against his temples, and another chain fell down from the center of the crown to place a teardrop shaped jewel in the middle of his forehead.

The crown was a bit heavy, but Keith had to admit it was gorgeous. 

All that was left was the tail. It took some work, but Keith managed to shimmie it on without dislodging any of his jewelry. The crown actually had clips on the inside to attach it to his wig, which Keith figured would come in handy when he inevitably had to struggle against whatever kind of bondage Lance had planned. Keith didn’t know what he would have done if it toppled from his head and broke. 

The mermaid tail was made from fabric similar to a swimsuit or leotard, and clung to Keith’s skin. Though somewhat stretchy, Keith found the material was tight and strong, rendering him unable to separate his legs. It tapered off a little ways past his feet, then unfurled into two silky fins, giving the appearance that the tail was much longer than a pair of human legs.

Keith touched up his makeup and called for Lance.

“You look great,” Lance grinned. “The most beautiful merman in the seven seas!”

Keith rolled his eyes with a smile, and wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck so Lance could pick him up bridal style. A small thrill ran down his spine at the ease with which Lance carried him down the hall.

Placing Keith down on the studio sofa, Lance began the meticulous process of sticking several sequin-like scales to Keith’s skin, mostly on his shoulders and neck, as well as a smattering across his cheekbones like sparkly freckles. The soft pads of Lance’s fingertips brushed over Keith’s face, and Keith tried to ignore how close those blue, blue eyes were, sharp and focused.

“There,” Lance said, “now you’re a proper mer prince.”

Keith tossed his hair dramatically, earning a laugh. Lance carried him to the coral reef set and placed him on a bare patch made to look like sand. Sitting so his weight was on one hip, legs curled to the side, Keith watched Lance adjust the long tail fins to stretch aesthetically across the floor. 

“Okay, here’s the first scenario,” Lance said. “You’re a beautiful merman just hanging out and being your gorgeous merman self. Combing your hair, talking to your little lobster buddies, that sort of thing.”

Keith snorted.

“When all of a sudden, you’re attacked!” Lance continued. “By this!”

He held up what looked like a long, slender tentacle, rubbery and lined with suction cups along one side. Keith raised an eyebrow.

“So is it, like, a giant octopus?”

“Octopus, squid, tentacle monster,” Lance shrugged. “We’ll leave it up to the viewer’s imagination. Personally, I’d go with a human-octopus hybrid, like Ursula but, y’know, a hot guy instead of an offensive drag queen stereotype.”

Keith hummed. Lance put the tentacle away and handed him a pretty comb painted to look like it was made from mother of pearl. 

Over the next several minutes, Keith did various mermaid-like things. He brushed out the long tresses of his wig, he pretended to chat with the props of sea creatures that surrounded him. Lance even got him to sing a song on the condition that Lance sang with him from behind the camera.

Lance had a nice singing voice.

Then, while Keith acted like he was busy running the wide toothed comb through his hair, Lance began to slowly drag the tentacles onto the stage between shots to make it look like they were creeping up on Keith. Keith remained oblivious to the encroaching danger until the tentacles finally attacked.

There were four in total, one wrapped around each of Keith’s wrists, one around his waist, and one that curled up his tail. The side with suction cups had some kind of adhesive so they stuck to Keith’s skin once Lance attached them.

Lance returned to his camera and Keith pretended to be shocked by the tentacles that grabbed him. They were long and slim, and trailed off one side of the stage, but due to their size the tentacles were also fairly heavy, allowing Keith to struggle against them without fear of messing anything up.

After a handful of shots with Keith writhing on the floor, Lance slid the tentacle around Keith’s waist further up his torso, snapping a picture every handful of inches to make it seems like the tentacle was crawling its way up and around Keith’s chest until it finally wrapped over his lips. First though, Lance stuffed a balled up handkerchief into Keith’s mouth.

“Just for you,” Lance winked.

“Mmnhf,” Keith replied happily. 

Lance looped the tentacle around Keith’s head. With the sticky inner side, it felt a lot like a tape gag.

For the next several minutes, Lance alternated between taking shots of Keith struggling against his bonds and moving Keith across the stage. The sequence of photos would make it seem like the tentacles were dragging Keith out of the frame. For the sake of realism, Lance did actually grab the other ends of the tentacles to haul Keith closer, and a spike of warmth jolted through Keith’s lower stomach every time he was forcibly moved.

“Mmmhhf,” Keith moaned. Though not as strict as previous bondage scenes, the nature of the tentacles did let his imagination run wild. Usually, he was tied up with rope or tape or chains, but the idea of a living creature being what bound him was tantalizing in its own right.

The mermaid tail kept his legs firmly bound as well. Keith hadn’t really been affected before the shoot began, but now that he’d been plunged into this scene, squirming within the grasp of his captor, he became hyper aware of how restricted his movements were, forced to flail and writhe helplessly as he was taken away. 

Lance readjusted the tentacles several times. They curled around Keith, pinning his arms against his sides and holding him down. By the time he reached the end of the stage, the tentacles spiraled up his body from the tip of his tail to the gag over his mouth.

“Great, let’s move on to the next scene,” Lance said.

He removed the tentacles, then scooped Keith up into his arms. Willing his heart to stop pounding, Keith gave Lance a grateful smile when he placed Keith onto the sofa and handed Keith a bottle of water. 

While Keith took his break, Lance changed the set, tweaking the lights to give the stage a darker, more cave-like feeling. Most of the coral reef disappeared, which was disappointing, but Lance kept a handful of the little sea creatures scattered about on the floor and wall. Then, to Keith’s surprise, Lance dragged over what looked like a giant scallop, the two halves of the ridged shell spread wide open. The bottom half that laid flat on the floor was lined with a silky cushion.

Keith quirked an eyebrow. “Please tell me you didn’t make Hunk build the shell bed from Animal Crossing.”

“No!” Lance said. “I mean, I might have shown it to him as a reference, but that’s not where I got the idea from! It’s totally normal for a mermaid bed. Ariel had a bed shaped like a giant clam in the prequel movie.”

“There was a prequel movie?”

“Yup. It wasn’t very good, but I had a huge crush on Ariel when I was little so I watched it way too many times anyway.”

Keith snorted, though he couldn’t help but smile at the mental image of a tiny Lance watching a cartoon mermaid with stars in his eyes.

“First catboys, now fish people. I think you have a type,” Keith teased.

“Okay, one,” Lance jabbed a finger at him in mock anger, “we do not condone kinkshaming in this studio. And two,” Lance turned up his nose with a haughty sniff, “I merely appreciate beauty in all its forms. What can I say? I'm a visionary.”

“You’re something, alright.”

Blue eyes narrowed, and Keith wasn’t able to hide a squeak when Lance suddenly stalked over to the couch. With his legs still stuck together in the mermaid tail there was little Keith could do to escape. They tussled playfully, both careful not to mess up Keith’s costume, but in the end Lance managed to pick Keith up with little effort, carrying him across the room to dump him on the shell bed. 

“Are you done?” Lance asked wryly when Keith continued to snicker.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” Keith grinned. “What now?”

“Now that you’ve been kidnapped, you find yourself in the lair of your captor,” Lance said.

He brought over what looked like long strips of dark green seaweed. Examining them curiously, Keith realized they were made of some kind of soft, malleable leather. Lance brought Keith’s arms behind his back and tied his wrists together with the seaweed, then moved around to Keith’s front and grasped his chin.

“Open up.”

With a faint blush, Keith parted his lips so Lance could stuff the handkerchief into his mouth, letting out a pleased moan when Lance wrapped another strip of seaweed over his lips several times before tying it off behind Keith’s head.

Lance helped Keith lay down on his side, body curled up to fit within the shell’s circumference. After adjusting the translucent fins of Keith’s tail so they draped prettily off the side of the bed, Lance stepped back to retrieve his camera.

The shutter clicked. Keith began to writhe and twist on the bed. The bondage was simple but effective, the leather seaweed snug around his wrists, and the mermaid tail preventing him from separating his legs at all. The gag was surprisingly comfortable too, buttery leather pressed over his skin, and Keith whined as he struggled to escape.

After several shots from various angles, Lance brought the tentacles back into play. They slithered up and around Keith’s body, restricting his movement even further, and Keith squirmed against them. He rolled onto his back, his bound arms trapped beneath him, and the tentacles mercilessly took advantage of the new position. They caressed his bare skin, gliding over the flat plane of his stomach. One of them brushed against his nipple, and Keith arched his spine off of the bed with a muffled whimper.

His mind grew hazy as he slipped into the sweet fog of subspace. All he could think about were the cool silk sheets, the tight bonds that held him in place, the torturous appendages that teased and fondled him. With a soft keen, Keith tried in vain to break free of his bonds even though in his heart of hearts he hoped he never would.

Keith got so lost in the fantasy, all tangled up in his captor’s grasp, that he didn’t even notice he was rolling a little too far until he suddenly fell off the shell bed. A startled yelp escaped through the gag as pain laced up Keith’s arm.

“Keith!” In a flash, Lance was kneeling by his side. He gathered Keith into his arms and quickly but carefully removed the tentacles still wrapped around Keith before untying the gag. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Keith grimaced. “My elbow kinda hurts. I think I landed on it.”

Lance’s blue eyes darkened. Before Keith could say anything else, Lance scooped him up and carried him over to the studio couch. The stinging in Keith’s arm was quickly forgotten in favor of realizing how close Lance’s face suddenly was and how good said face looked when uncharacteristically fierce and maybe a touch protective.

After gently setting Keith down, Lance untied his wrists and examined his elbow with a sympathetic hiss. Keith glanced down as well. The fall scraped his skin so there was a bit of bleeding, but Keith had certainly had worse.

“It doesn’t look too bad,” Lance said, echoing Keith’s thoughts, “but we should make sure it doesn’t get infected. Be right back.”

He returned a couple minutes later with a first aid kit. Wincing a little when Lance dabbed antiseptic on the cut, Keith tried to distract himself by taking advantage of Lance’s focus, admiring the close proximity of Lance’s eyes and the gentleness of his hands as he treated Keith’s wound. This helped him ignore the pain, but gave Keith a new problem that made his pulse quicken and his stomach flutter.

“Sorry I ruined the shoot,” he blurted out. “I can’t believe I fell like that. So embarrassing.”

Lance snorted, but his hands remained achingly gentle while he started to wrap gauze around Keith’s arm. “To be fair, it’s a pretty small bed. And don’t worry about it, we got plenty of great photos.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked. “It doesn’t hurt much anymore, I could keep going. Dunno how we would cover this up though,” he frowned at the bandages.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Lance said. “We were almost done anyway.”

Though he remained skeptical, Keith agreed to call it a day. The pain had lessened to a dull throb, and while he could push through it, it wasn’t exactly comfortable. Lance carried him to the bathroom so Keith could peel himself out of the mermaid tail and change back into his normal clothes. When he came back out, Lance was already waiting for him.

“Hey, since the shoot was cut short, do you wanna hang out for a bit?” Lance asked. He rubbed the back of his neck, a shy splash of pink on his cheeks that Keith couldn’t help but feel charmed by. “Hunk made me this huge cake and there’s no way I can finish it by myself. We could watch a movie or something?”

At the mention of cake, Keith’s eyes widened and he said, “Oh, right! I almost forgot.” He hurried to the entryway where he left his bag propped up by the front door. Vaguely aware of Lance following behind him, Keith pulled a small, flat item out of the bag and turned around to offer it to Lance. “It’s your birthday tomorrow, right? Happy birthday!”

Lance’s mouth formed a small “o” of surprise. He took the brightly wrapped present and made a show of shaking it next to his ear even though anyone could tell by the shape and size that the item was a painting. Keith rolled his eyes at Lance’s antics, but nerves kept him from making any witty remarks.

Finally, Lance carefully ripped the wrapping paper off to reveal the image underneath. His bark of laughter quickly turned into cooing. It was a watercolor painting that depicted Lance’s Animal Crossing avatar sitting on a hill next to Bob the lazy cat. The two characters gazed up at the night sky while a handful of shooting stars soared over them. Keith had also included a tree with cherries and a small pond nearby for extra flavor. Watercolors weren’t his area of expertise, but he thought it turned out pretty fucking cute.

Lance apparently agreed, judging by the squeeing noise he was still making. He pulled Keith into a hug. Startled, Keith tentatively wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, and wondered in the back of his mind how Lance smelled so nice after being in the hot studio for hours.

“Thank you, Keith,” Lance said. “I love it! I’m gonna put it on my desk and stare at it every day.”

Laughing, Keith replied, “You’re welcome.”

They pulled back to smile at each other, and both seemed to realize at the same time how close they were. Cheeks pink, Keith and Lance stepped away, avoiding eye contact.

“So,” Lance cleared his throat. “Cake?”

Even though it was (almost) Lance’s birthday, he insisted Keith relax while Lance got the food, saying he was the host and Keith was injured. Keith didn’t think his wound was bad enough that he couldn’t carry his own plate, but after a few token protests Keith gave in, and soon found himself tucked next to Lance on the living room couch, munching away while they watched cartoons on TV. Hunk’s baking was delicious as always.

Keith studied Lance’s profile from the corner of his eye, admiring the way the lights and colors from the screen glowed against Lance’s dark skin. Not for the first time, he was struck with the desire to paint Lance. He had considered doing so for Lance’s present, but in the end decided it would have been a tad too sentimental, maybe even a bit weird. Besides, when and if Keith painted Lance some day, he wanted to do it with the man himself in the room so Keith could be sure to get it just right. Lance deserved nothing less.

Midway through an episode, Keith’s phone alarm went off. Disappointment curdled his good mood.

“I have to go,” he said reluctantly, “the last bus leaves in fifteen minutes.”

“Bus?” Lance frowned. “Don’t you usually drive here?”

“Yeah, but my car’s in the shop,” Keith replied.

“Oh,” Lance glanced between the TV and Keith’s pout. “Or we could finish this episode and I could give you a ride home?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not. I never mind spending time with you.”

A rosy blush flooded Keith’s face. Lance’s eyes widened and he hastily added, “Plus, y’know, we have to find out if Catra will ever get her shit together and just admit she’s tsundere for Adora.”

Keith’s lips curled into a small smile. “I thought you said you already finished this show.”

“Shhhh,” Lance said. “No spoilers.”

Rolling his eyes, Keith settled back in. If Lance noticed he was sitting a bit closer than before, he didn’t mention it.

They finished the episode, and the next one after that, and before Keith knew it the sun had gone down and they had binged the entire first season.

Lance took their plates and cups to the kitchen, once again refusing Keith’s help, then drove Keith back to his apartment. He walked Keith inside the complex despite Keith’s insistence that he wasn’t an invalid, it was just a scrape, Lance, really, and soon the two of them were standing in front of Keith’s door.

“Um, thanks again for the ride, Lance,” Keith said when the awkward silence became unbearable. “I really appreciate it. The bus fuckin’ sucks, I can’t wait to get my car back.”

“No problem,” Lance chuckled in a way that warmed Keith from the inside. 

As he fiddled with his keys, Keith couldn’t help but feel like this was the end of a date. It wasn’t of course, but it certainly felt like it. Keith stood there, back almost pressed against the door, and tried to think of something else to say, which was increasingly difficult thanks to how close Lance’s big, blue eyes were, and were they actually getting closer? They were. Unconsciously, Keith licked his lips, and those blue eyes flicked down to follow the movement before returning to pin Keith in place with their gaze once more.

“Keith,” Lance licked his own lips and it was Keith’s turn to glance down at them, “I-”

A sudden loud bark broke whatever spell had entrapped them, and Lance and Keith sprang apart. When Kosmo continued to bark and whine from the other side of the door, Keith hurried to unlock it so he could poke his head inside to reassure the dog it was him and not an intruder. Once Kosmo had settled down, Keith turned back to Lance.

“Sorry,” he said. “What were you saying?”

“I…” Lance scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. “Uh, you wanna meet up sometime next week to binge more She-Ra?”

A flicker of disappointment rose in Keith’s chest, but he quickly stamped it out. “Sure. My place next time?”

“Okay,” Lance gave him a crooked smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll text you.”

Keith nodded. A sudden thought occurred to him and he glanced down at his phone, brightening at what he saw. 

“Happy birthday, Lance!” Keith showed him the screen. It read two minutes after midnight. 

Lance’s grin melted into something more genuine. “Thanks, Keith. It means a lot to me that you’re the first person to say it on my actual birthday.”

Blushing, Keith smiled back and said, “See you next week?”

“Yeah,” Lance replied, his gaze soft. “See you next week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [elmo on fire gif]  
MAXIMUM PINING
> 
> Sorry the bondage part was shorter than usual, but hopefully the fluff made up for it? This whole chapter ended up being shorter than I wanted tbh, but if all goes according to plan the next chapter should be quite long so please look forward to it ;)
> 
> See you next time! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/
> 
> P.S. I had to look up mermaid crowns for this chapter and I want them all


	10. Interlude II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don’t know what a frog tie looks like, I highly recommend googling it. I did my best to describe it, but a visual aid certainly wouldn’t hurt, haha.
> 
> Trigger Warning in this chapter for more of Keith’s dubcon/noncon fantasies. Everything is just in his imagination and he is very much into it.
> 
> Enjoy! (๑¯◡¯๑)

In the dim light of his bedroom, Keith double checked that his preparations were complete. It was late enough that no one would call or text him outside of an emergency. Kosmo was asleep in the living room where Keith usually put his doggy bed when he wanted privacy for the night. Last but not least, the items he needed were all laid out neatly on the bed.

Satisfied, Keith grabbed two strips of black cloth and stood in front of the full-length mirror that hung on his wall. He tied the first strip into a thick knot, then slipped the knot into his mouth between his teeth and tied the ends behind his head. After taking a moment to gnaw on the fabric a bit and flex his tongue until it was comfortable, Keith pressed the second strip of cloth flat over his lips, tying it snugly behind his head as well.

He pulled his hair free so it framed his face and tightened the gag again. Admiring his work in the mirror, Keith made a few muffled noises to test out the gag, pleased by the results.

Heat already curling low in his belly, Keith stripped out of his clothes and clambered onto his bed. His laptop was already set up, so Keith grabbed a coil of rope and pressed play.

The frog tie was one of Keith’s favorites from his photoshoots, and he had finally reached a level in knot tying where he felt confident enough to try it himself. Sitting in a kneeling position, he followed along as the young woman on screen folded the rope in half and looped it around her leg, binding her thigh to her ankle. Keith threaded the loose ends through the bight and wound it the other way around, which added a delicious amount of tension. The tail of the rope went through the loop once more, then Keith separated the two strands to run them around both sides of the cords, crossing them between his thigh and calf. Finally, he finished by tying the two ends into a square knot at the outside of his thigh.

Keith paused the tutorial and examined his work. It didn’t look quite as pretty as when Lance did it, but the knot held firm when Keith tried to straighten out his leg. Nodding to himself with a small, “Mmph,” Keith turned the video back on and repeated the process with his other leg.

Once he was done, Keith closed his laptop and shuffled across the bed to place it safely on his nightstand, testing out his new bonds while he did so. The ropes didn’t budge. If anything, his movements seemed to tighten them, and Keith could already feel himself starting to slip into that nice, warm haze.

He rolled back to the center of the bed. After taking a moment to peruse the rest of the items lined up on the mattress, Keith picked up the bottle of lube and laid down on his back, his feet planted on the bed with his heels just barely grazing the swell as his ass.

Keith poured out a generous amount of lube and then brought a slick finger down to his entrance, circling and rubbing gently before pressing the digit inside. With deep breaths, he slowly worked his finger deeper. Keith pumped it in and out, dipping further each time, then added a second finger to scissor and stretch his inner walls. Keith’s bound legs fell further apart as he added a third finger, and his hips bucked up into empty air.

“Mmmnhh,” Keith moaned.

With great effort, he forced himself to slow down. Keith blindly felt around with his free hand to grab his vibrator. Removing his fingers to smear more lube onto the phallic, silicone toy, Keith lined it up and slowly pushed it inside. The vibrator was slightly thicker than his fingers, and Keith couldn’t stop a low whine while it stretched him out even further.

By the time it was fully seated inside of Keith, he was panting softly, a blush on his cheeks and sweat on his brow. He was fully hard at this point but didn’t dare touch himself yet. Instead, Keith reached over to pick up the final object: a pair of leather handcuffs.

The frog tie was new, but the handcuffs weren’t, and Keith had little trouble buckling them onto his wrists. They were made specifically for self-bondage, so he could remove them fairly easily once he was done. For the time being, however, Keith brought his bound hands down between his legs and pushed the button on the flared end of the vibrator.

The sound of buzzing immediately filled the room. Keith let out a muffled gasp, stretching his arms up to rest over his head as shockwaves of pleasure coursed through him. He wished he could attach the cuffs to his headboard, but that would make it much harder to get out of them later, so he settled for closing his eyes and pretending.

Keith imagined he’d been kidnapped. The mysterious man who bound and gagged him had left Keith a little something to keep himself entertained before abandoning him to this blissful torture. Tied up like this, Keith was helpless to do anything but ride it out, squirming on the bed while the toy inside of him vibrated mercilessly against his sweet spot. 

Would his captor return soon? And if so, would he put Keith out of his misery? Would he gaze down at Keith and take pity on him, crawl between Keith’s legs to remove the vibrator and replace it with himself? Or would he merely watch while Keith moaned and writhed, unable to find relief as the only thing to ever touch him was the cool gaze of those blue, blue eyes.

“Hhnnnmghh,” Keith keened.

He rolled onto his side, shuddering when the new angle put more pressure on his sweet spot. It still wasn’t nearly enough, so he tossed and turned, his entire body flexing while his muscles burned pleasantly in his attempt to chase completion. The frog tie made it difficult for Keith to maneuver. It kept his legs bound in a way that rendered him quite helpless, unable to so much as crawl across the bed.

Exhausted, Keith collapsed back onto the mattress. The toy inside of him continued to vibrate, and he reached down to push the button again, raising the level of intensity. With a muffled whimper, Keith dragged himself into a kneeling position and ground down onto the mattress to the best of his ability, hips bouncing as his weight drove the vibrator in as far as it would go. 

Eyes closed, Keith imagined his captor watching him while he impaled himself over and over, his cries silenced by the gag, his wrists and legs bound. There was no hope for escape. For the foreseeable future, Keith would be nothing but a toy, free of any worry besides his master’s entertainment. If he did well, he would be rewarded. And if he didn’t, a delicious punishment awaited.

The rhythm of his hips quickened. Keith ran a hand up his torso to pinch and rub his nipples, then brought his other hand up to tug on the long hair at the base up his scalp. The chain between the cuffs became taut, cool metal brushing against his bare skin, and Keith let out another low whine.

_ “You’ve done well, Beautiful,” _ his fantasy captor said. _ “You have my permission to finish yourself off.” _

Keith reached down between his legs with a sob of relief. It only took a few strokes before he came undone, keening into his gag as stars burst across his vision. 

Thoroughly spent, Keith took a long moment to simply lay there on the bed and catch his breath. Once he felt like he could move again, he fumbled with the handcuffs to free himself, then carefully removed the vibrator. A small tug unraveled the square knot that kept his legs bound. Lastly, Keith pulled the gag from his lips.

After a quick cleanup in the bathroom, Keith collapsed back onto the bed. Exhausted but sated, he turned off the light and closed his eyes.

A moment later, Keith turned the light back on. He opened his laptop to add the tutorial to his favorites before going to sleep with a smile.

\-----

“Have the guests started to arrive yet? What about the caterers? Do I look okay? Oh god, I look awful, don’t I? Why did I pick this suit? Keith, why did you let me pick this suit?”

“Shiro, breathe,” Keith rolled his eyes. He reached out to fix Shiro’s tie, which had come askew after his brother wouldn’t stop fidgeting with it. “The suit looks amazing. The guests are settling in and the catering company will arrive any minute. You’ve spent the last year agonizing over the details, now just relax and enjoy the moment, okay?”

“You’re right,” Shiro said, taking a deep breath. “I know you’re right. Thanks, Keith.”

Keith smiled back. While he knew better than anyone that Shiro wasn’t always the calm, collected man he seemed, Keith had never seen his brother in such a state before, but he supposed one’s wedding day was as good a time as any to freak out. Hell, Keith felt nerves jittering through his veins and he was just the best man.

The ceremony was due to start in less than an hour. Keith assisted in setting things up earlier so all that was left was for him to help Shiro get ready. Honestly, it was less helping him with his hair and clothes, and more convincing him that everything would go smoothly and Adam wouldn’t suddenly change his mind and leave Shiro at the altar.

“What if one of the guests is allergic to the food?” Shiro said. “What if someone _ dies?” _

Sighing, Keith went to rummage in the dresser for Shiro’s pocket square. “No one is going to die. We asked the guests about allergies multiple times and all the dishes are labeled.”

A knock on the door interrupted them. When Pidge poked her head inside the room, Keith turned his attention back to his search.

“Hey, the photographer’s here,” she said. “You wanna talk to him before he gets to work?”

Shiro gave her a genuine, if somewhat frazzled, smile. “Sure. Thanks, Pidge.”

She waved the photographer in before hurrying away. Shiro and Matt had roped Pidge into helping organize the guests, so she was constantly darting around the venue. Shiro stepped forward.

“Hi, I’m Takashi Shirogane,” he said. “Thanks for agreeing to do this. Pidge recommended you very highly.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” said a familiar voice, causing Keith to freeze. “I’m-”

“Lance?” Keith spun around, his eyes wide. Sure enough, Lance stood in the middle of the room, still shaking hands with Shiro. 

Lance stared back at Keith, equally surprised to see him. Shiro glanced between the two curiously.

“You two know each other?” he asked.

Keith and Lance finally broke eye contact as pink rose to both of their faces.

“We’ve met,” Keith finally said. 

Shiro looked between the two of them again. Any sign of his previous nerves was gone, replaced by a calculating gleam that didn’t bode well for Keith.

While Shiro and Lance began to discuss the wedding and what kind of pictures the grooms wanted, Keith returned to his search for Shiro’s pocket square. Shock finally started to leave his system, and his mind raced. He had never expected to see Lance today of all days. Keith already felt strung out from all the preparations and thinking about what was still expected of him, and he didn’t know if Lance overtaking his thoughts instead was better or worse.

Finally locating the wayward fabric, Keith returned to his brother’s side. Shiro took it with a grateful smile and moved to the mirror on the other side of the room, leaving Keith and Lance in relative privacy.

“Hey,” Lance greeted with a sheepish grin.

Charmed as always, Keith smiled back. “Hey.”

“Small world, huh?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded. “I had no idea you were friends with Pidge.”

“Pidge was classmates with Hunk in college,” Lance explained. “The three of us hung out a lot. Less now that we’re all adults with jobs and junk, but we still get together from time to time.”

“I met Pidge through her brother, Matt,” Keith offered. “Matt and Shiro have been friends since forever.”

Lance chuckled. “When Pidge gave me the name of the client for this gig, I had no idea it was your brother. I always assumed ‘Shiro’ was his first name, not half of his last name.”

“Oh, yeah,” Keith reached up to fiddle with his hair, only to remember at the last minute not to mess it up. “You wouldn’t be the first. I’m pretty sure the only person who calls him Takashi is Adam.”

They made a little more small talk before Lance left to do his job. Keith must have spent a bit too long staring at the door because Shiro brought him out of his thoughts with a polite cough. Blushing, Keith quickly returned to his brother’s side to help him with his hair and makeup.

“So,” Shiro said, a twitch to his lips that made warning bells ring in Keith’s head, “you and Lance seemed...familiar.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Keith mumbled.

“He was here for ten minutes,” Shiro said, “and not one of them was spent looking at anything except you.”

Heat flooded Keith’s face, and he yanked on the brush a little harder than necessary. Shiro winced, but didn’t relent.

“I’m just saying,” he continued, “I saw you smile more while he was here than you have all month.”

“I smile,” Keith protested.

“Sure, maybe when you’re texting your mysterious friend that you won’t tell me anything about,” Shiro scoffed. When Keith remained silent, Shiro’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait. Is Lance-”

“Why are we talking about this?” Keith said. His face felt like it was on fire. “It’s your fucking wedding day, we should be focusing on _ your _ love life, not mine.”

“...So you admit you have a love life.”

“Argh!”

“Keith, wait! Come back, you know I can’t do this makeup by myself! Keith!”

\-----

Despite Shiro’s worries, the ceremony went off without a hitch. The venue was a large, beautiful park, and the weather was perfect, if a bit on the warm side. Shiro and Adam stood side-by-side in a lovely gazebo by a pond filled with lilies as they held hands and said their vows. Keith watched proudly from behind his brother.

Although his attention during the ceremony itself was solely on the grooms, Keith couldn’t help sneaking little glances before and after at Lance. This was the first time he’d seen Lance work outside of his studio, and Keith had to admit he was impressed. Lance was professional and friendly, gathering guests together with ease to get the best shot. The only equipment he had was what he brought with him in his kit, but Keith had no doubt that the photos would look amazing.

The wedding reception began immediately after the ceremony. The lines of chairs were replaced by round tables covered in tasteful dishware and decorations, and the catering company set up the buffet table faster than Keith could blink. A large open space next to the eating area had already been cordoned off as the dance floor, and it wasn’t long before guests migrated over. 

Keith shared a table with Shiro, Adam, Matt, and Pidge, but one by one they all left to dance or socialize. Pidge, the last to abandon their table, offered to stay and keep him company, but Keith waved away her concerns, not wanting her to miss out on the fun. He was savoring the last few bites of his meal when Shiro showed up out of nowhere and ushered Lance into the seat next to Keith’s.

“You’ve been on your feet for hours,” Shiro said. “Please, take a break, at least until the speeches start. Have a drink and some food.”

“Uh, okay,” Lance replied, looking confused but too polite to admit it. “Thanks.”

Shiro sent them both a very unsubtle wink and swanned back into the crowd of well wishers before Keith could murder him. Keith’s ire was soon forgotten, however, in the face of Lance’s bright grin.

“Hey, man,” Lance said. “The ceremony was beautiful. You did a great job.”

“Oh,” Keith blinked. He ducked his head down, feeling warm. “I didn’t really do anything, but thanks.”

“I’ve been to enough weddings to know the best man duties aren’t nothing,” Lance said. “I’m also guessing you’re the one who trained Kosmo to carry the rings, which was adorable by the way. Look, I got a great shot of it!”

Smiling, Keith scooched his chair so they could bend their heads closer together over Lance’s digital camera. Lance showed him several of the photos he’d taken so far, and Keith was once again reminded of his talent.

After a while, Lance put his camera away to preserve the battery, and he and Keith fell into an easy conversation about a new anime they were both looking forward to. Watching Lance’s exuberance as he gushed about how much he loved the original manga, Keith felt all the tension in his body melt away. Keith was happy for Shiro and Adam, and would have been insulted if his brother had asked anyone else to be his best man, but he still didn’t like crowds or having to make small talk with people he barely knew. Sitting here with Lance, however, made everything else seem to fade away. All Keith had to focus on was the sparkle in Lance’s blue eyes and the sound of his laugh and the reminder of how big his hands were when gesticulated. 

Lance was in the middle of a passionate meta commentary about his favorite character when he abruptly stopped mid-sentence. Before Keith could ask what was wrong, Lance brightened and said, “Oh hey, I love this song! You wanna dance?”

All of Keith’s anxiety came rushing back. Dance? Keith? In front of all those people? Hell, one of his stipulations when helping Shiro plan his wedding was that Keith wouldn’t be required to dance at any point.

But, as he opened his mouth to refuse, Keith took one look at Lance’s hopeful expression and outstretched hand and said, “Okay.”

His stomach felt like a bottomless pit filled with millions of butterflies, but it was worth it if it got Lance to smile at him like that.

Heart beating a mile a minute, Keith allowed Lance to pull him onto the dance floor. It was only then that Keith actually listened to the music and realized what a horrible idea this was. The song was slow. And romantic. Keith was going to die.

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith spotted Shiro waggling his eyebrows at him with a shit-eating grin. Keith flipped him off. It helped him feel somewhat normal again.

“Mind if I lead?” Lance asked.

“Sure,” Keith shrugged. He rarely danced so it wouldn’t make much difference to him.

Lance guided Keith’s hand to rest on Lance’s shoulder and held the other in his own while Lance’s free hand pressed at the small of Keith’s back. Perhaps he could tell how inexperienced Keith was because at first they just sort of swayed to the music. It was...nice. Keith gradually began to relax, and Lance led him through a few simple steps.

“Stop looking down, you’re doing fine,” Lance laughed. “Just keep your eyes on me.”

“You’ll regret saying that when I step on your toes,” Keith warned him. 

Lance shrugged, gazing into Keith’s eyes. “Worth it.”

Warmth flooded to Keith’s cheeks. Now that he was looking directly at Lance, Keith was forced to come to terms with how close they were. Their faces were mere inches apart and Keith’s skin burned where Lance’s hands touched him. 

It didn’t help that Lance looked even more handsome than usual, his hair tousled from the breeze and his skin glowing under the sun. Were those freckles? So unfair. 

Lance’s clothes suited him too. They were simple and professional, just a pale blue dress shirt, dark slacks, and polished shoes. The ensemble was nice enough to be appropriate for the occasion without being flashy. Unfortunately for Keith, it also drew attention to some of Lance’s best features. The shirt brought out his eyes, and accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, while the tailored slacks hugged his rump and made his legs seem like they went on for miles. 

A small cough made Keith realize he’d gotten distracted ogling Lance. Caught, he snapped his gaze back up to find Lance staring back at him with hooded eyes and a smirk that should have been irritating but instead made Keith’s mouth go dry. His heart nearly stopped when Lance leaned in closer, only to feel equal parts relieved and disappointed when Lance’s face passed Keith’s lips to whisper in his ear.

“Y’know,” Lance murmured, sending a delicious shiver down Keith’s spine, “a wedding theme wouldn’t be a bad idea for a photoshoot. You’d look spectacular in a wedding dress. Something more elaborate than the vampire bride costume.”

Keith swallowed. 

“I could tie you up in pretty, white ropes,” Lance continued, seemingly unaware of what he was doing to Keith. “Or maybe black for better contrast. You could be gagged and blindfolded behind your veil, unable to say anything but ‘I do.’”

Holy shit. Was Lance _ trying _ to get Keith to embarrass himself by popping a boner in the middle of all these people?! Well, two could play at that game.

Mustering up the tattered remains of his will, Keith tilted his head to bring his mouth closer to Lance’s ear.

“You’re forgetting the best part,” he said quietly. 

“Oh?” Lance pulled back to look at Keith with that maddening smirk. “And what’s that?”

Keith closed the gap until their noses practically brushed against each other. 

“The marriage bed,” he replied, delighted when Lance’s eyes widened and his breath hitched. “After the ceremony, my new husband would carry me home and keep me tied to the bed for the entire honeymoon.”

Lance’s jaw dropped. Despite the fact that his face felt like it was on fire, Keith knew he had won this little game of theirs, and a triumphant smirk curled across his lips. 

Several emotions flitted over Lance’s face, too quick for Keith to parse, before finally he tipped his head back and laughed.

“Damn, Keith,” Lance said with a lazy grin. “You don’t do things by halves, huh?”

“Nope,” Keith grinned back. Part of him was dying from embarrassment but a bigger part of him purred with satisfaction.

A lighter mood replaced whatever tension hovered between them and they returned to dancing. The next few songs were more upbeat, and Keith soon found himself laughing while Lance twirled him around. At one point, Lance actually dipped him and heat coiled low in Keith’s belly again as he was reminded of Lance’s strength, but that, too, quickly passed and they were back to having carefree fun.

Keith almost forgot they were surrounded by other people. All he could see was Lance. Lance, holding him close. Lance, smiling as he sang along to the music. Lance, tilting his head down toward Keith’s, his crystal blue eyes hooded and smoldering. Their breath intermingled and their lips almost brushed when loud _ clink clink clink _ suddenly chimed through the air.

Telling himself it would be in poor taste to murder someone at his brother’s wedding, Keith reluctantly pulled away from Lance and followed the crowd’s gaze to see Matt tapping a spoon against his champagne glass.

“If I could have your attention, everyone,” Matt said. “I hope you’re all having a wonderful time!” Cheers rang out. Keith did not join in. “If you’d please find your seats, we’re going to start the toasts in a few minutes. And then, once we get through that boring stuff, we’ll serve dessert!”

The guests tittered and began to shuffle off of the dance floor. Keith turned back to Lance.

“I guess that’s my cue,” he sighed.

Lance offered him a crooked smile. “Mine too. Good luck with your speech.”

“Thanks,” Keith grimaced. “I’ll need it.”

“Aw, you’ll do great.”

“Public speaking is...not my strong suit.”

“Well, hey,” Lance’s smile softened, “I’ll be nearby taking pictures. If you start to feel nervous, just look at me and try to pretend I’m the only one you’re talking to.”

“You think that’ll help?”

“Worth a shot. Besides,” Lance winked, “if nothing else, I promise to take excellent photos of your speech. That way in the future you can just point to them and everyone will be too distracted by how good you look to remember what you actually said.”

Keith paused. “I can’t tell if you’re complimenting me or yourself, but thanks, I guess.”

The speeches went fairly well. As Shiro’s best man, Keith was first to speak. The numerous pairs of eyes on him made his hands shake, gripping his notes a little too tightly, but the familiar click of a camera shutter drew his attention. Lance smiled encouragingly, and Keith took a deep breath. After that, he was able to get through the rest of his toast without too much difficulty. Keith even got a chuckle from the audience when he made a joke at Shiro’s expense. 

Finally, he was finished and could slump back down into his seat while Matt began a boisterous retelling of Shiro and Adam’s disastrous first date. Keith snuck a peek over at Lance. The photographer was dutifully taking pictures of Matt, but he glanced back at Keith to shoot him a wink. Keith ducked his head down to hide the small smile growing on his face.

Time seemed to drag on while more people offered toasts. Shiro and Adam had way too many friends, and all of them apparently had something to say. Eventually they were done and the grooms walked over to the buffet table, which was now laden with cupcakes, cookies, pastries, and, of course, the wedding cake. Everyone applauded when Shiro and Adam cut the cake together, and Keith had no doubt Lance was able to capture the tender affection in their eyes as they smiled at each other.

After that, people returned to socializing, getting up to serve themselves dessert or return to the dance floor. Keith grabbed as many éclairs as he could fit on one plate and spent the next several minutes stuffing his face while he pretended not to watch Lance bounce around the reception area snapping photos.

A sudden hand on his shoulder jolted Keith out of his totally not weird staring and he looked over to see Shiro drop into the seat next to him.

“Hey,” Keith greeted. “Where’s your better half? Aren’t you supposed to be legally attached at the hip now?”

“Matt challenged us to a dance battle,” Shiro chuckled, waving a hand at Adam, Matt, and Pidge who were flailing around on the dance floor. “I got disqualified, apparently.”

“You do kinda suck at dancing,” Keith smirked.

Instead of rising to the bait, however, his brother offered his own sly grin. “I’d say don’t throw stones in glass houses, but you and Lance actually looked pretty good together earlier.”

Pink painted Keith’s cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbled.

“Sure you don’t,” Shiro said. “Just like you definitely haven’t been staring at him for the last fifteen minutes.”

Keith sank down in his chair and took another large bite of his pastry.

“You’re not that subtle, Keith.”

“Shut up,” Keith replied. “Leave me alone. Go be gross with your husband.”

At the word “husband,” Shiro’s shit-eating grin turned into something gooey and warm. He turned to gaze over at Adam, looking absolutely smitten despite the fact that Adam was currently doing the worst rendition of the macarena Keith had ever seen.

“I’m just...so happy, Keith,” he said. “I hope someday you get to be as happy as I feel right now.”

Keith’s sullen pout softened. He nudged his plate closer to his brother as a peace offering, and Shiro took one of the éclairs with a smile.

The two brothers chatted for a while before Adam appeared to drag Shiro back into the crowd. Not wanting to stay at the table by himself any longer, Keith wandered around the venue. The park really was beautiful. He’d have to return some time to see what it looked like without all the wedding paraphernalia. 

The sun sank lower in the sky and guests finally began to trickle out after wishing the happy couple their congratulations. Keith found himself standing on the long, wooden bridge that arched across the lily pond, forearms crossed on the railing as he watched the sky turn pink and orange. The heat had finally gotten the better of him, and the sleeves of his dress shirt were folded up to his elbows with his jacket carefully draped over the railing, his tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck.

_ Click. _

Startled out of his reverie, Keith turned to see Lance standing a few meters away. Lance lowered his camera and joined Keith with a sheepish grin.

“Sorry,” he said. “Couldn’t help myself. The light was just perfect, y’know?”

“It’s fine,” Keith replied. He watched as Lance safely stowed his camera away and leaned back with his elbows propped up on the railing. “Are you done taking photos?”

“Yup,” Lance said. “I’ll touch them up at home and send ‘em to Shiro in a couple of days. Hopefully he and Adam will like them.”

“I’m sure they will,” Keith smiled. “You’re amazing, Lance.”

Lance’s eyes widened. Realizing what he’d just said, Keith averted his gaze, his face suddenly warm.

“I-I mean, you’re an amazing photographer,” he said hastily. “Not that you’re not also a great person in general! I just meant, um, your pictures are all really well done, and I’m sure Shiro and Adam will think so too.”

Before Keith could contemplate too hard about throwing himself into the pond, Lance put him out of his misery with a crooked grin.

“Thanks,” he chuckled. “That means a lot, Keith. I always put my all into my work regardless of the project, but events like this feel like they carry more weight, y’know? Like, if I mess up a gig for a magazine, sure it sucks, but my clients will get over it and move on to the next thing. An important life event though? Like a wedding or a graduation or whatever? Those stay with the client for life. It’s so much more personal, and if I fuck it up it’s like I’ve ruined the memory of their special day.”

Embarrassment forgotten, Keith set a reassuring hand on Lance’s arm.

“I totally get it,” he said, “but trust me, you don’t have anything to worry about. I already saw some of your photos from today and if the rest are even half as good I know Shiro and Adam will love them.” Keith offered Lance a wry smile. “I’m honestly starting to wonder if you’re even capable of taking a bad picture.”

“Well, it helps when the subject is already gorgeous,” Lance winked. “But thanks,” he continued, seemingly oblivious to the redness of Keith’s cheeks, “that makes me feel better.”

“Good,” Keith cleared his throat. “I’m glad.”

Realizing he was still touching Lance, Keith started to pull his hand back only for Lance to grab it. Startled, Keith looked up to lock eyes with Lance. The other man seemed nervous, glancing down as he adjusted his grip so that he was gently holding Keith’s hand between both of his larger ones.

“Keith,” he said, “I know this might not be the most appropriate time, but...there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

“Oh,” Keith’s heart skipped a beat. “Okay.”

“We…” Lance licked his lips, “we’ve known each other for a while now and I feel like we’ve gotten really close. Honestly, you’re one of my best friends.”

Warmth blossomed in Keith’s chest. “You’re one of my best friends too.”

Returning his smile, Lance gave Keith’s hand a little squeeze. “I love spending time with you, Keith. Whether we’re on set, or texting, or playing video games, I just feel...really happy when we’re together, and I was hoping…”

“Yes?” Keith prompted, breathless.

“I...Look, I know we’re technically coworkers, and the last thing I want is to put you in an uncomfortable position so just say the word and we’ll never speak about this again, but…” Lance took a shaky breath, “do you wanna go out? With me? I mean, of course I meant with me. It’s not like I’m asking for someone else. Why did I say that?”

Keith cut off Lance’s rambling by pressing the pads of his fingers to Lance’s lips.

“Yes,” he said. “I do want to go out with you.”

Lance’s blue, blue eyes widened. He took Keith’s wrist and brought it down so he was holding both of Keith’s hands.

“Really?” Lance asked. “You don’t mind that I’m sort of your boss?”

Keith shook his head. “I trust you, Lance. I know you would never take advantage of me like that. Well,” a smirk curled across Keith’s face, “not unless I asked you to.”

Lance snorted. They shared a grin and Lance tugged Keith a little closer. 

“Can I kiss you?” Lance murmured.

“God, yes,” Keith replied, smothering Lance’s laughter with his mouth. 

Lance let go of Keith’s hands to wrap his arms around Keith’s waist and Keith clutched the front of Lance’s shirt. The kiss was sweet and chaste at first, just the press of lips on lips. Keith would have happily kept kissing Lance like this for hours, but then Lance reached up to cradle Keith’s jaw and tilted his head at just the right angle to slot their mouths together more comfortably, and something warm and wet brushed against the seam of Keith’s lips. 

Keith answered the silent request by parting his lips, and Lance wasted no time in deepening the kiss. As Lance’s tongue explored the cavern of Keith’s mouth, one of Lance’s hands slid down to settle at the small of his back, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Lance’s other hand pushed into the curtain of Keith’s hair, fingers threading through the long, dark locks at the base of Keith’s skull. The tiny tugs on his scalp, combined with the tongue ravishing his mouth, and the hand branding his back and pressing him more firmly against Lance’s chest, drew a whimper from Keith’s throat, which Lance swallowed and answered with a soft moan of his own. The sound sent electricity down Keith’s body and made his toes curl.

By the time they pulled apart, Keith’s legs felt like they were made of jelly. Thankfully, Lance seemed more than happy to let Keith melt against him, keeping a supportive arm around Keith’s waist. With a grin, Lance leaned forward so their foreheads pressed together.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said.

“Same here,” Keith chuckled. “So...now what?”

“Now,” Lance said, “we set up a date. How about dinner next Friday?”

“I think I can fit it into my schedule,” Keith teased.

“Good,” Lance pressed another sweet kiss to Keith’s lips. “I can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws confetti* They did it, y’all! After ten months and almost 47k words, the pining is finally over! I hope it was worth the wait, haha.
> 
> Fear not, this fic isn’t done yet. Next we'll enter an arc where Keith and Lance explore their new relationship both on and off set. ;)
> 
> That said, I am starting to get a little low on my original list of ideas for photoshoot themes and cosplay, so if there’s something you’d like to see, please drop me a comment! I can’t promise to include every suggestion/request, but I’ll certainly take them into consideration!
> 
> See you next time! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/


	11. Snow White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To get a better idea of the dress Keith’s outfit is based on, look up “Kristin Kreuk Snow White” :)
> 
> Enjoy! (๑¯◡¯๑)

“I am so sorry,” Lance blurted out the second he opened the door.

Keith stepped into the apartment. “Lance, I told you it’s fine. I wasn’t doing anything today anyway.”

“I know but,” Lance sighed and scrubbed a frustrated hand through his hair, “I had tomorrow all planned out. I booked us a reservation at the best restaurant in the city, and I was gonna pick you up dressed to the nines and sweep you off your feet.”

“We can still do that,” Keith pointed out.

“Yeah, but I wanted our first meeting as boyfriends to be romantic,” Lance said. “I was gonna razzle dazzle you! Instead, I’m just,” he gestured at his casual work clothes with a pout.

Keith wanted to kiss that pout away. He then realized he was allowed to do that now, and gave Lance a peck on the lips. Lance’s eyes widened, his frown successfully banished.

“I appreciate the thought, Lance,” Keith said, “and I’m sure tomorrow night will be wonderful. But I really don’t need all that for you to ‘razzle dazzle’ me. I just need you.”

He cringed a little inside after saying such sappy words, but it was worth it for the smile on Lance’s face.

“I just need you, too,” Lance said, giving Keith’s hand a little squeeze. He straightened his spine with a nod. “Okay, let’s get to work. And afterwards, I’ll make it up to you by cooking dinner.”

“You don’t have anything to make up for,” Keith rolled his eyes, “but I won’t say no to dinner.”

Lance grinned and led Keith to the studio. One of the other models called in sick, which left their monthly quota one photoset short. Keith was apparently the only other model whose set and costume were already ready to go since his next photoshoot was scheduled for the coming weekend, so Lance called him asking if he could do the gig early. Keith didn’t have any other plans, so he agreed.

Looking between the set–a dense forest with a cottage nestled in the distance–and the costume Lance handed him–a long gown that wouldn’t look out of place at a renaissance fair–Keith guessed, “Princess?”

“Not just any princess,” Lance smirked, and Keith watched him casually toss a bright red apple up and down in his hand. “Snow White.”

“Huh,” Keith examined the dress again. “Doesn’t look anything like the disney version.”

“Yeah, I thought that would be too cliché,” Lance replied, “so I based the look on Kristin Kreuk’s outfit from a different movie. It was a favorite of mine as a kid, and the dress is gorgeous. More your color too,” he added with a wink.

The dress was indeed a deep, velvet red, the fabric heavy and soft in Keith’s hands. It had two layers, as Keith discovered when he changed into it. The bottom layer was a smooth cream color with skirts that flowed down to the floor, ending in a wide, gold trim. Sleeves made of the same fabric went down to Keith’s wrists. 

The top layer worked somewhat like a jacket. Buttons ran down from the wide neckline to Keith’s navel before the red fabric parted to reveal the cream colored layer underneath. The sleeves of the red layer went just past Keith’s elbows, where they expanded to drape elegantly down his skirt. The inside of the crimson sleeves matched the cream colored fabric. Little golden snowflakes were embroidered here and there on the lower half of the red outer layer.

Once Keith completed the outfit with a pair of matching red high heels, Lance ushered him into a chair. 

“We’re not using disney Snow White’s dress,” he said, “but her hair is too cute to pass up.”

Keith sat very still while Lance attacked his hair with a curling iron. Afterwards, Keith looked in the mirror with mild fascination. He’d never had curly hair before.

“You’re so cute,” Lance cooed, playfully tugging on an inky lock. “And you’re gonna look even cuter in a minute.”

With a flourish, Lance presented a long, red ribbon. He looped it under Keith’s hair and tied the ends into a bow on top of Keith’s head. The result was rather adorable, and Lance made a noise resembling a tea kettle as he hugged Keith to his chest.

“Lance,” Keith protested, his face warm, “you’re gonna ruin my makeup.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Lance reluctantly let him go. “I couldn’t help myself. I have the cutest boyfriend in the world.”

The word ‘boyfriend’ made Keith’s cheeks burn even brighter, but he couldn’t help the smile it brought to his lips.

He moved towards the set only to be stopped by Lance.

“One last thing,” Lance said, his mouth curled into a smirk that sent a small shiver down Keith’s spine.

Long, slim fingers grasped Keith’s chin, and Keith could only stand still as a tube of scarlet lipstick glided over his lips.

“Skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony,” Lance recited softly, his eyes dark and smoldering, “and lips as red as blood.”

Satisfied, he capped the tube of lipstick with a small _ pop _ and stepped back, leaving Keith somewhat dazed and more than a little flustered.

“Well then,” Lance said, “shall we get started?”

Snapping back to reality, Keith’s face became less white-as-snow and more red-as-blood. “Y-you-!”

“Yes?” Lance asked innocently.

With a huff, Keith stormed onto the stage. If this was the sort of teasing he had to expect now that they were dating, well...he wasn’t quite sure what to think yet. It was incredibly irritating, but...he didn’t hate it. Besides, if that was how things were going to play out, Keith would be sure to give as good as he got.

“Okay, so since everybody knows the general story of Snow White, we’re just gonna focus on a few different scenes,” Lance said. “Starting with the part where the huntsman takes Snow White into the forest to kill her under the queen’s orders.”

He had Keith flit around the set, oblivious to the threat looming over his head. While Keith picked the fake flowers scattered around the stage, the camera came closer and closer to convey the huntsman’s point of view as he snuck up on the princess. Finally, Keith looked over his shoulder and straight into the lens, his eyes going wide as he imagined seeing his attacker poised to strike.

“Good, good,” Lance praised. “Now that he’s been caught in the act, the huntsman ties you up before you can run away.”

Keith sat on the fake grass with his legs tucked underneath him. Lance kneeled behind him with a length of brown rope, though Keith was pleasantly surprised to find it softer than it looked. He held still while Lance used one half of the rope to tie Keith’s wrists together behind his back, then used the other half to bind his ankles. Due to his position, the foot of rope connecting his wrists to his ankles was taut but didn’t pull too hard. That said, it rendered him completely unable to stand up or move around.

“How’s that? Not too tight?” Lance asked.

Keith squirmed happily in place. “Yeah, feels good.”

“Good,” Lance took a moment to rake his eyes over Keith, who squirmed again for a different reason. “I know I’ve said this before but, damn, you’re pretty.”

Smirking, Keith very deliberately ran his tongue over his lips. It was Lance’s turn to blush.

“Not fair,” he jabbed a finger at Keith. “You can’t do that when I can’t kiss you without ruining your makeup.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Keith replied innocently.

A narrowing of Lance’s blue eyes was all the warning Keith got before the other man suddenly shoved a strip of white cloth between his teeth.

“Mmph!” Keith squeaked as Lance knotted the gag snugly behind his head. His indignation melted away with a shiver when Lance firmly grasped his chin.

“If I can’t kiss you, the next best thing for those pretty lips of yours is a gag, don’t you think?” Lance murmured.

Keith bit down on the cloth to muffle the needy whine crawling up his throat. Fuck, maybe dating Lance was a bad idea after all. At this rate, the man was going to kill him. Well, at least it would be a fun death.

Lance retrieved his camera and took several shots of Keith from different angles, including numerous closeups of his bindings and gag. Kneeling in place, Keith tugged futilely against the ropes, but the bonds remained deliciously strong.

After that, Lance grabbed a prop dagger and held it within the frame, poised menacingly over Keith’s head. Keith stared up at the camera, trying to look scared and pitiful. He even pinched himself to make his eyes water.

“Nnmhhm,” Keith whimpered. His eyelashes fluttered, gathering the tears like tiny drops of dew which, combined with his flushed cheeks and pleading expression, was sure to melt even the coldest of hearts. 

“That’s it, perfect,” Lance said. “Swayed by your innocence and beauty, the huntsman decides to spare you. However, now that you know the queen wants you dead, you have no choice but to flee further into the woods.”

Lance untied Keith and took a few shots of him wandering around the forest until he finally stumbled across the cottage in the background.

“We all know what happens next,” Lance said. “You meet the dwarves, they take you in, yada yada yada. We’re gonna skip ahead to when the queen, disguised as an old woman, shows up to finish the job herself.”

Keith took a break while Lance changed the set. The backdrop now looked like the inside of a cottage, and the grassy floor was removed in favor of the natural wooden one. Now that they were dating, Keith openly watched Lance carry in various pieces of furniture, admiring the flex of his muscles and the way sweat curled the ends of his short, brown hair.

Once the last prop was in place, Lance flopped down onto the sofa to take a break himself. Keith immediately cuddled closer, pleased when Lance automatically raised an arm to make room for him.

“Y’know,” Keith said, “I’m gonna have to reapply my lipstick anyway before we restart, so if anything happens to it before then it doesn’t really matter.”

“Oh?” Lance reached out to cup Keith’s jaw with a sly smile, his thumb brushing just shy of the corner of Keith’s lips, “Is that so?”

“Mmhm.”

“Well then,” Lance bent his head down so his lips hovered just above Keith’s, “I think we’ve both earned a little treat.”

Keith’s eyes fluttered shut as Lance kissed him. Lance’s hand continued to cradle Keith’s face while the other fell to rest on Keith’s hip. When Keith opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, he looped his arms around Lance’s neck as held on for dear life. Lance really was too good at this. If they weren’t careful, Keith would be too far gone to finish the shoot.

Eventually they remembered that they were professionals and stopped making out so they could get back to work. Keith fixed his makeup and met Lance back on set.

Under Lance’s direction, Keith puttered about the cottage, pretending to tidy it up. At his cue, Keith pantomimed answering the door and greeted the camera–which now stood in for the evil queen’s point of view–with a smile.

“In the original fairytale, the queen uses three items to try to kill Snow White; a belt that strangles her, a comb that poisons her, and, of course, the apple,” Lance said. “For our version, we’re gonna combine everything into one scene and give it a bondage spin. First, we’ll start with the belt.”

Lance handed Keith what looked like a long strip of silk, which Keith wrapped loosely around his waist, tying the ends into a bow at his hip. The material was pitch black and silky smooth, and had a faint sheen that glimmered in the light. 

In between each shot, Lance replaced the sash with an identical longer one, making it look like the belt had come alive and was magically growing in length to tie Keith up. Keith posed with a startled expression on his face as the sash bound his wrists together behind him and wrapped around his torso several times, pinning his upper arms. He’d never been tied up and released and tied up again so many times in one shoot, and it was pretty fun. 

The final sash was several feet long. Like the others before it, Lance looped the black material around Keith’s waist, then crossed Keith’s wrists behind his back and bound them together. He wound the sash around and around Keith’s chest before tying it off behind him, then helped Keith sit on the floor and wrapped the remaining length of the sash around Keith’s ankles. The distance between his bound arms and legs was longer than it was during the scene with the huntsman, but prevented Keith from moving much all the same.

The camera clicked and Keith struggled. The silk binding him felt luxuriously soft against his skin while it firmly held him in place. Keith could already feel the warm haze of subspace beginning to curl around the corners of his mind.

“Okay, next is the comb,” Lance said. 

Upon seeing it, Keith realized it was the fancy type of comb with tiny gemstones decorating the top and long, needle thin tines that you could push into hair to keep the comb in place as an accessory. Lance did just that, twisting a handful of Keith’s ebony locks and pinning it with the side comb. His actions tugged on Keith’s hair, and little shockwaves of electricity shot down his spine.

“Ahh!” Keith whimpered. Lance paused, then chuckled lowly in Keith’s ear.

“You like that, don’t you?” he asked, his voice smug. Before Keith could think of a snappy retort, Lance gave his hair another sharp yank, and Keith’s gasp turned into a soft moan. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

Keith swallowed heavily. 

Next, Lance procured a roll of black lace. He carefully weaved a strip between the tines of the comb, then wrapped the lace over Keith’s eyes, looping around his head twice before tying it off. Keith could see a little bit through the holes in the lace, but not much, and he had no doubt the pattern looked pretty.

After several pictures of Keith’s new blindfold, Lance said, “And finally, the pièce de résistance: the poisoned apple.”

Keith watched through the layers of lace as a fuzzy outline of Lance puttered around the set. Once he was done with whatever it was he was doing, Lance stepped away and Keith saw a round object hovering in front of his face. When Keith leaned forward to try to get a better look, something hard and smooth brushed against his face, and its sweet fragrance filled his nose.

“I tied the apple to the ceiling with fishing wire,” Lance explained. “For this part of the scene, I want you to pretend the queen put some kind of enchantment on you, and you’re overcome with the desire to eat that apple. But since you’re tied up and blindfolded, you can’t reach it. It taunts you just out of grasp.”

Nodding, Keith slipped back into character. He leaned towards the fruit again, his lips parting slightly. The smooth skin of the apple brushed against his lips, only to swing away before he could taste it. With a pout, Keith tried again and again, straining against his bonds to get a bite of the sweetness that eluded him. A few times, his tongue flicked out to lick it or his teeth scraped against the waxy surface, but never enough to take hold. Frustration and arousal swirled together in his gut. It was _ right there, _ why couldn’t he get it?

He was so deep into his role, Keith almost jumped when Lance said, “Great, let’s move on.”

“Do I get to eat the damn apple now?” Keith huffed.

There was a pause, followed by another one of the chuckles that never bode well for Keith.

“If you insist,” Lance said, suddenly much closer than before. “Open wide.”

“Wha-ahnf!”

Flavor suddenly burst across Keith’s tongue as his teeth sank into the apple’s flesh. It was just as sweet as it smelled.

“Don’t bite all the way through,” Lance warned. “Try to keep it in your mouth.”

Doing his best to obey, Keith kept his jaw loose. The apple made a surprisingly effective gag. It was too big to fit inside his mouth, so Keith’s lips were pressed firmly against the outside, sealing any noise that fought to escape. It muffled his moans and whimpers as Keith writhed on the floor, and he felt a drop of juice trickle down his chin.

“Mmmnh,” Keith whined.

With the steady _ click click click _ in the background, Keith pulled against his restraints. Smooth silk tightened around his wrists and ankles, and his eyelashes brushed against the inside of the black lace blindfold. Although the apple in Keith’s mouth wasn’t attached to him by an external force, he kept it firmly in place with his own power, which was odd but he didn’t dislike it. He knew he could get rid of the gag by spitting it out or closing his jaw, but chose not to even as the sweet juice filled his mouth and dripped down his throat, forcing him to swallow often.

After a few more pictures of Keith struggling, Lance helped him lay down on his side. The apple had done its job, casting the princess into an enchanted slumber.

“Okay, great,” Lance said. “You can take a break while I set up the last little bit.”

He carefully took the apple from Keith’s mouth. Keith smacked his lips and stretched out his jaw while Lance untied him, then drank some water while Lance turned the set into a dungeon Keith vaguely recognized from a previous photoshoot.

“Hey, it’s economical,” Lance shrugged when Keith asked. “I’ll add some stuff so it doesn’t look completely the same, but there’s no sense in making a whole new backdrop when we can just reuse one.”

Accepting this answer, Keith was soon distracted by the next set piece Lance dragged onto the stage. Eyes wide with awe, Keith walked closer.

“Woah,” he said. “Is that real glass?”

“Nah,” Lance replied. “It’s plastic, but clear enough to pass at a glance. It’s sturdy too.”

He covered the bottom of the fake glass coffin with white flower petals, then helped Keith sit inside. Using two of the medium length belt sashes, Lance tied Keith’s wrists together in front of him, followed by his ankles. He then raised a balled up handkerchief to Keith’s mouth, and Keith parted his lips so Lance could tuck it inside, after which Lance tied another black strip of silk over his mouth. Finally, Lance wrapped the lace blindfold over Keith’s eyes again and gently lowered him to lay down in the coffin.

Though Keith couldn’t see much through the lace, Lance explained what he was doing as he filled the coffin with white roses, tucking them around Keith’s body and arranging several to rest in the folds of his skirt so that Keith looked like he was floating on a bed of flowers. He slipped one last rose into Keith’s hands.

“And so Snow White rested forevermore,” Lance said, accompanied by the sound of the camera’s shutter, “bound and gagged for eternity in a place no one would ever find her.”

“Mmnph,” Keith said softly. Almost all of his photoshoots ended with his character still in bondage, but this ending felt a bit sad.

The clicking stopped, and after a moment Keith heard footsteps draw closer.

“But maybe someday,” a large, warm hand brushed Keith’s face, “a handsome prince will discover her, and wake Snow White with a kiss.”

The gag came loose, and warm lips descended on Keith’s. Keith eagerly reciprocated as best he could with his hands still bound, moaning when Lance’s tongue slid against his own. Distracted as he was, Keith almost didn’t notice Lance’s arms slip under his back and knees until Keith was suddenly lifted out of the coffin with a startled squeak.

Lance carried him a little ways before sitting down on what Keith assumed was the studio sofa with Keith sitting sideways across his lap. He looped Keith bound wrists over his head so Keith’s arms circled Lance’s neck, and crushed their lips together once more. Keith idly played with the short hairs on Lance’s nape while they kissed, letting out a small noise as Lance’s hands roamed his body, caressing his back and groping his thighs through the thick fabric of the dress. 

Kissing Lance was the best thing ever, but kissing Lance while tied up, well...Keith hoped they’d do it a lot going forward. 

Eventually they had to come up for air. Lance’s thumb brushed over Keith’s cheek just below the blindfold, his face still close enough that their breath intermingled.

“Well,” Lance said, his voice low, “I don’t know about you, but that was definitely the best wrap to a shoot I’ve ever had.”

Keith pretended to think about it and shrugged. “Eh, I’ve had better.” 

Despite his best efforts, Keith couldn’t hide the twitch in his lips, and Lance punished his sass by ravishing Keith’s mouth, tugging on Keith’s hair to elicit little moans and whimpers until he was putty in Lance’s arms.

Once he was satisfied that Keith had learned his lesson, Lance untied him and removed the blindfold so that he could give Keith aftercare. 

“Seriously though, good work today,” he said as he rubbed Keith’s wrists. “Every time I think you couldn’t be more talented, you go and prove me wrong.”

A blush painted Keith’s cheeks, and he replied, “Well, I have to do something to keep you interested.”

“Trust me, babe,” Lance chuckled, “you don’t have to worry about that.”

Pleased, Keith ducked his head to hide a shy smile. 

A little while later, Keith changed back into his normal clothes and removed his makeup. With a contemplative look at his reflection, Keith gathered his hair into a small ponytail and applied a bit of new makeup, but kept it much lighter than before; just some eyeliner and lipgloss. If this was going to be a date, he wanted to put some effort into his appearance, after all. Luckily, the outfit he picked out that morning was decent–a wine red, v-neck shirt with dark jeans. Simple, but cute. 

By the time Keith finished and returned his costume to the rack, Lance was already in the kitchen chopping up vegetables while a large chunk of ground beef sizzled in a pan. The smell immediately made Keith’s mouth water.

“Go ahead and sit down,” Lance gestured to the table. “Once I get everything in the pot we can watch TV or play video games for awhile.”

“Need any help?” 

“Nah, I’m good.” 

Keith snuck over to steal a piece of bell pepper and popped it in his mouth. “What are you making? It smells delicious.”

“Just wait until I add the spices,” Lance laughed. “It’s my abuela's picadillo recipe. It’s kinda like a cuban chili. Nothing fancy, but I had all the ingredients already so I figured I’d treat you to a little taste of home.”

“Chili sounds amazing,” Keith assured him.

He watched Lance cook the vegetables and add them to the meat, stirring everything together as he hummed along to the music playing on his phone. It was disgustingly domestic, and Keith felt something warm and bubbly rise up in his chest. Several more things went into the pot, including tomato sauce, cooking wine, hot sauce, and more spices than Keith had ever seen outside of a grocery store. Lance was right. The smell only got better and better.

Lance added a few more things then left it to simmer. While they waited, Keith kicked Lance’s ass in Mario Kart before Lance returned the favor in Smash Bros. Lance then showed off his skills in a game of Counter-Strike. Keith didn’t know much about first-person shooters, but Lance looked so proud of himself that Keith had no choice but to reward him with a kiss.

Once the picadillo was ready, Lance served it with white rice, beans, and plantains. It was spicy and savory and delicious. The meal was made even better by the little looks and smiles Lance and Keith kept shooting at each other as their feet bumped playfully under the table.

After dinner, they returned to the living room. Keith had brought his Switch with him so they both booted up Animal Crossing and visited each others’ islands. On their screens their characters ran around and played while in real life Keith and Lance cuddled close together on the couch.

They finished off the night by binging the next season of She-Ra. It was finally starting to get colder this time of year, so Lance tucked a soft blanket around them and rearranged their bodies until Keith was practically sitting in his lap. Toasty warm, Keith let his head fall onto Lance’s shoulder and watched the characters on TV with a content smile, his eyes starting to droop when he felt gentle fingers stroke his hair. 

“Sorry this wasn’t what we planned,” Lance said quietly.

“It’s okay. In fact,” Keith hummed and snuggled closer, “I think this was a perfect first date.”

“Yeah?” Lance chuckled, his chest rumbling beneath Keith’s ear. “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve never personally been a fan of apple gags for much the same reasons I’m not into large ball gags (too big, don’t seem like they’d be comfortable, and would probably make you drool, plus the connotations that come with having an apple stuffed in your mouth lol) but it seemed appropriate for a Snow White themed shoot. If nothing else, I usually strive to add new things and keep each chapter fresh, haha.
> 
> I’ve actually had this chapter semi-planned out for a really long time, so it was exciting to finally get to write it! Next chapter will be a Halloween photoshoot, so please look forward to it~
> 
> See you next time! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/


	12. Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can y’all believe it’s been a year since this fic started? And I’ve even managed to keep to my self-imposed deadline of updating about once a month! Wild. An extra special thanks to everyone who’s supported this fic! Your comments/kudos/bookmarks keep me going!
> 
> This chapter is a bit of a hybrid interlude/normal chapter since I wanted to do something for Keith’s birthday as well, even if it’s a bit late.
> 
> Also just a heads up, this chapter includes the bondage technique known as mummification. Similar to the “being trapped in an enclosed space” thing from the zelda chapter, this type of kink is a bit more extreme than usual and might not be for everyone, so please read with caution.
> 
> Enjoy! (๑¯◡¯๑)

Time passed quickly, and before Keith knew it it was his birthday. He would normally spend it with Shiro and Adam, but they were still out of the country thanks to some unforeseen circumstances that delayed their honeymoon. Shiro had felt horribly guilty about it, but Keith assured him that he was perfectly happy celebrating over video call.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was spending the day alone.

“Hey, babe,” Lance greeted when Keith answered the door. “Happy birthday!”

Smiling, Keith accepted a kiss and ushered Lance inside.

“Thanks, Lance,” he said. “We’re almost ready to go. You’re sure this place allows dogs, right?”

“Definitely,” Lance said. “It’s all outdoors, and I’ve seen other people bring dogs when I went in the past.”

“Okay,” Keith crouched down to pat Kosmo’s head. “What do you say, buddy? Wanna go check out some pumpkins?”

Though he probably didn’t understand Keith, Kosmo could tell by his tone of voice and the leash in his hand that they were going somewhere, and let out an excited, “Boof!”

Keith grabbed his jacket, stuffing his gloves into his pockets and jamming a red beanie onto his head.

“Fingerless gloves?” Lance asked with a teasing grin. “I thought models were supposed to be fashionable.”

“These are fashionable,” Keith sniffed. 

“Won’t your fingers get cold?”

“If they do,” Keith smirked as he locked the door behind them, “you’ll just have to hold my hand, won’t you?”

“A heavy responsibility,” Lance nodded sagely, “but one I’m willing to bear.”

It took a few minutes to convince Kosmo to hop into the backseat of Lance’s car, but soon enough they were on their way. When Lance had asked Keith what he wanted to do for his birthday, Keith remembered seeing a commercial for the local autumn festival and thought it would make a fun date. Predictably, Lance was ecstatic. He apparently went every year to take pictures of all the decorations. He’d brought his camera today too; not for work but for fun, to capture memories of their first birthday date together.

After about an hour’s drive, they arrived at a large, open field, which had been overtaken by tents, carnival rides, and hundreds of people. Children ran around, laughing and screaming, and Keith spotted several visitors who had indeed brought their dogs with them.

Almost as big as the carnival itself was the pumpkin patch, lined with rows and rows of gourds, all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Lance and Keith agreed to go there last since they didn’t want to haul pumpkins around for longer than necessary. 

First, they wandered through the stalls that featured games, trinkets, and food. Lance suddenly brightened and he dragged Keith over to a shooting gallery. Keith rolled his eyes.

“You do know these games are rigged, right?” 

“That doesn’t mean they’re unwinnable,” Lance said, taking the toy gun from the employee. 

“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what it means.”

“Oh, yee of little faith,” Lance tutted. He raised the reticle up to his eye. “Watch and learn.”

It took a handful of tries. Like Keith thought, the game was definitely rigged, but Lance would shoot, adjust his grip or posture, then shoot again a little closer to the target. Half an hour later, they walked down the aisle of stalls, Kosmo’s leash in Lance’s hand because Keith’s arms were full holding a giant stuffed lion. 

The smugness radiating off of Lance would be irritating if it weren’t so damn adorable. Not to mention how hot he looked with his blue eyes narrowed in concentration, even if the image was diminished somewhat by the laughably undersized toy rifle.

Keith tried his hand at ring toss. He had less success, but managed to win Lance a silly, pumpkin-shaped hat which Lance proudly wore for the rest of the day.

They wasted some more money on carnival games before stopping by a food stall to order overpriced hotdogs and funnel cake. Finding a free area beneath a large tree, Lance flung open the picnic blanket he brought and they cuddled together. 

Belly full of junk food, Keith sighed contentedly. Between Lance pressed against his side and Kosmo happily draped over his lap, Keith was nice and toasty as he idly ran his fingers through the dog’s thick fur.

After they finished resting, Lance and Keith decided to go on some of the rides. They took Kosmo back to the car where he curled up with the stuffed lion for a nap. It was a perfectly safe temperature to leave him in, but Keith still tucked a blanket around Kosmo just to make sure he would be comfortable, and closed the car door to find Lance looking at him with a soft smile.

“What?” Keith asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. 

“Nothing,” Lance said. He held out his hand. “Come on.”

He fulfilled his promise to keep Keith’s fingers warm while they returned to the festival. The two went on the ride with spinning rockets, then the small roller coaster, then the ferris wheel where Keith was unable to fully appreciate the view due to Lance’s tongue in his mouth. 

Lance dragged Keith into the haunted house next, boasting how he’d protect him, only for Lance to be the one to let out a shriek when one actor with particularly good zombie makeup jumped out at them. Keith merely stared back at the zombie, deadpan, and wondered if they’d be willing to share makeup tips.

“Shut up,” Lance muttered as they exited the attraction. 

Still snickering, Keith said, “I never knew your voice could go so high. That was amazing.”

Lance opened his mouth to retort, then paused and looked at their surroundings. While they were inside, the sun had started to set, basking everything in a warm, orange glow.

“Keith, it’s magic hour!” Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist and hurried in the direction of the pumpkin patch. “It’s the perfect time for taking pictures!”

Chuckling, Keith allowed Lance to tug him along. Lance had been taking photos the entire time with his phone; pictures of Keith, pictures of Kosmo, selfies with all three of them together, etc. They weren’t for work or his portfolio. Lance just genuinely loved photography. 

They entered the pumpkin patch and Keith took a moment to admire it. He could see why Lance liked coming here. If he had the time and didn’t have to deal with all the people, Keith could easily see himself painting the festival, capturing the autumn colors of the leaves and the brown of the soil and the orange of the pumpkins. It was the very picture of fall.

So he followed Lance with a smile, and gave into his excited requests without complaint when Lance asked him to pose next to a large pumpkin or sit on a bushel of hay. Although Lance was using his phone rather than his digital camera, Keith had no doubt the pictures would turn out lovely. Lance took plenty of selfies of the two of them together as well.

They picked out their pumpkins while there was still enough sunlight to see by. Keith got a large, orange one that he could carve into a cool jack-o-lantern later, while Lance chose a gourd so tiny that fit into the palm of his hand.

“It was just so cute, I couldn’t leave it here all alone,” he held the miniature pumpkin up to his face and shot Keith a pitiful look. “It’s so small and adorable. I’m gonna name it Keith Jr.”

Keith’s hands were full with his own pumpkin so he could only kick at Lance in retaliation, giving chase when Lance laughed and took off for the car. He beat Keith by a wide margin, which Keith found rather unfair since his cargo was way heavier than Lance’s. Lance kissed away his pout and stowed both pumpkins safely in the trunk.

Keith dozed off and on as they drove back to his apartment. They hauled their souvenirs inside, and Lance brought up a large, flat package covered in wrapping paper, which Keith totally did not eye with eager anticipation.

“So,” Lance said, after placing the package down and ignoring it like the sadist he was. “You mentioned something before about cake?”

Rolling his eyes, Keith led Lance into the kitchen and pulled a pastry box out of the fridge. It wasn’t Hunk’s baking, but it _ was _ two slices of double chocolate cheesecake from Keith’s favorite local bakery, which was almost as good.

With a grin and a wink, Lance fished a birthday candle out of his pocket and stuck it into Keith’s slice.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Did you just...carry that around all day?”

“Nah, I kept it in the glove compartment,” Lance said, “but I’m glad I brought it since you didn’t have any.”

He honestly hadn’t thought about buying candles. There might have been some old ones hiding in a drawer somewhere, but Keith wasn’t about to look. Instead, he shrugged and retrieved a lighter.

“Don’t forget to make a wish,” Lance reminded him.

Hesitating, Keith leaned closer to the lit candle. He never put much stock in things like birthday wishes, even as a child, and besides Keith didn’t even know what to wish for. Things were going pretty well in his life for once. Maybe he could wish for it to stay that way?

Unbidden, a thought crossed Keith’s mind.

_ ...I wish for Lance to stay with me forever. _

As soon as he registered the thought, heat rushed to Keith’s face. He quickly blew out the candle and tried to distract himself by shoving a large chunk of cheesecake in his mouth. If Lance noticed his sudden awkwardness, he thankfully didn’t say anything.

When they were done eating, the two returned to the living room, and Lance finally relieved Keith’s suffering by bringing over his present.

“Happy birthday, Keith,” he said. “I hope you like it.”

Keith took the package with a murmur of thanks. It was heavier than it looked, flat and about the size of a large movie poster. He tore the wrapping paper off and his eyes widened. 

His own image stared off to one side of the picture, casually leaning against the railing of a bridge with the setting sun behind him. An invisible breeze tousled his hair and made the loose tie around his neck flutter. The sky above him was a gorgeous blend of orange and pink, reflected in the water below, and the lily pads and flowers in the corner added another splash of color. But perhaps the most captivating part of the picture was Keith’s own expression. He gazed out at nothing, lost in thought. His eyes were hooded, and his dark lashes cast shadows on his cheekbones. He looked contemplative...peaceful...beautiful.

“Lance,” Keith breathed. “This is…”

Lance scrubbed a hand through his short hair. “I told you the lighting was perfect. I’m not exaggerating when I say this is one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken.”

“It’s amazing.”

“I thought you might like to display it in your home,” Lance said. “Show off your modeling talent to guests since you can’t exactly hang up your usual pictures.”

Keith hummed. Normally, he’d feel a little weird putting up a giant poster of himself in his own apartment, but it really was a masterpiece, and Keith would feel remiss to hide Lance’s work. Lance had even gone to the trouble of placing it inside a sturdy, black frame.

“Thank you, Lance,” he said. “I love it.”

“I’m glad,” Lance smiled. “Now people can look at it and see you the way I do.”

Keith’s breath hitched.

“And,” he licked his lips, “what way is that?”

A large, warm hand reached up to cup Keith’s cheek.

“Beautiful,” Lance replied softly. “Wild. Ethereal. Passionate. Seductive.” He paused. “On second thought, maybe I don’t want people to see that. Can I have it back?”

Laughing, Keith tried to avoid Lance’s playful swipes for the poster. They ended up sprawled across the couch, the photo placed safely on the floor. Laying flat on his back, Keith moaned softly as Lance pushed his tongue further between Keith’s lips. Lance hovered over Keith, knees bracketing his hips while strong fingers pressed his wrists into the cushion above his head. Eventually they were forced to part for air, and Lance looked down at Keith from above, his dark skin flushed and his lips swollen.

“I, um, got you another present too,” Lance said. “I was working up the courage to give it to you, but now seems like an appropriate time.”

“Oh?” Keith asked, intrigued.

Lance got off the couch to fetch something from his jacket pocket. Keith took the small package and immediately began tearing off the wrapping paper.

“Before you ask, no, I did not carry this around all day either,” Lance said.

Upon opening the box, Keith let out a small gasp. Inside was a panel gag made from dark, rich, leather. When he picked it up the material felt supple beneath his fingers, and shone in the dim light. Attached to one side of the belt-like structure was a black rubber ball just the right size to fill one’s mouth without forcing it open too wide.

“It’s gorgeous,” Keith said. It must have cost a pretty penny too. There was a reason Keith didn’t own any high quality leather gags himself yet. He was saving up.

Lance licked his lips and said, “Do you want to try it?”

A jolt of heat pooled in Keith’s lower stomach. He looked up at Lance through his lashes, taking in the other man’s blue eyes, dark with arousal, and nodded. Lance took the panel gag and raised it to Keith’s lips.

“Open up.”

Keith obeyed, letting out a near silent moan as the rubber ball slipped past his lips and behind his teeth. Once he had adjusted to the weight of it on his tongue, Lance turned Keith around to buckle the straps behind his head, and Keith whimpered when the gag pressed snugly against his cheeks.

“Not too tight?”

“Hmmnnhf,” Keith sighed happily.

“Good,” Lance chuckled. He nudged Keith back around and cupped Keith’s face, brushing his thumb across Keith’s cheekbone above the leather. “Now where were we?”

He pressed a kiss to the gag where it covered Keith’s mouth, then trailed his lips down Keith’s chin to nibble and suck at the pale column of his throat. The hand cradling Keith’s face pushed back into his hair and curled into a fist, sending pleasant little shockwaves down his spine, while Lance’s other hand settled at the small of Keith’s back, pressing him even closer.

Keith couldn’t help but squirm in Lance’s grasp. With a muffled whine, he reached out to tug at the hem of Lance’s shirt so that he could trace his fingers up the smooth, hard plane of Lance’s stomach. Lance unlatched himself from Keith’s neck with an obscene _ pop _ and snatched Keith’s wrists. 

“I think someone’s getting a little ahead of themselves,” he smirked.

“Mmnnhnn,” Keith tugged against his hold petulantly. It was his birthday! He should be allowed to feel up his boyfriend’s abs if he wanted to!

As if reading his mind, Lance said, “Looks like the birthday boy needs to learn a little...restraint.”

Before Keith had time to be mad at the pun, he was quickly distracted by Lance pushing him onto his back and crawling on top of Keith to pin his wrists over his head. Lance procured a long, silk scarf seemingly out of thin air and swiftly tied Keith’s wrists together.

“There,” Lance sat back to admire his work. “Much better.”

Those blue eyes raked over Keith and he shuddered, writhing in place as he tugged halfheartedly against his new bonds.

“Now you just lay there and relax while I give you one last birthday present,” Lance said. “If you want to stop or take a break at any point, snap your fingers, okay?”

Keith nodded. Satisfied, Lance reached down and began unbuttoning Keith’s shirt from top to bottom.

“Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that you wear button downs all the time?”

“Mmnnh,” Keith sighed, his eyes fluttering shut as Lance mouthed at one of his nipples. 

Little moans and whimpers filled the air as Lance’s tortured the pink nub, increasing in volume when Lance’s hand slid up Keith’s side to pinch and roll the other one. In the back of his mind, Keith was glad he’d had the foresight to put Kosmo to bed earlier so the canine wouldn’t come investigate the noise.

Once he was done playing with Keith’s nipples, Lance slowly made his way further down until he pressed his lips against the top of Keith’s hipbone. A hand settled on Keith’s belt.

“Is this alright?” Lance asked.

Keith frantically nodded. They’d been dating for a few weeks now, and had yet to do more than some heavy makeout sessions. Keith wasn’t in a hurry, and enjoyed that they were going at their own pace, but if Lance was asking what Keith thought he was asking, Keith felt more than ready for the next step in their relationship.

With a grin that did things to Keith’s poor heart, Lance settled between his legs, lifted his hips, and divested Keith of his pants and underwear. A small bout of shyness curled through the haze of lust as Keith realized Lance had never actually seen him fully nude before, but it was quickly forgotten when he noticed the hungry look in Lance’s eyes.

“Oh, Keith,” Lance pressed a tender kiss to the inside of Keith’s knee, “you’re perfect.”

Keith’s breath hitched. He released a low, muffled keen as Lance began to bite and suck hickies into the sensitive skin of Keith’s inner thighs. He took his time, drawing closer and closer until Lance finally swallowed Keith whole.

_ “Mmmnnnhf,” _ Keith cried out.

His bound hands, which he’d dutifully kept above his head up until this point, came down to thread his fingers through Lance’s short hair, bobbing up and down as Lance gave him head. Moisture gathered in Keith’s eyelashes, and he gazed down to watch Lance, the sight of his hollowed out cheeks and intense blue gaze nearly enough to make Keith come undone on their own. 

Lance suddenly increased his tempo, and Keith threw his head back with a broken sob. He babbled incoherently into his gag, gripping Lance’s hair for dear life, until stars burst across his eyelids and Keith finally came with a loud, muffled moan.

As he drifted through the haze, Keith was vaguely aware of Lance cleaning him off and crawling back up to draw Keith into his arms. He tucked Keith’s still bound wrists between them and pressed soft kisses to Keith’s face.

“You want me to untie you?”

Keith shook his head. He didn’t want to leave subspace quite yet.

“What about the gag?”

“Mmnh,” he shook his head again. 

“Okay,” Lance kissed him again. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

“Mmnf,” Keith agreed, snuggling closer.

Lance grabbed the blanket that hung over the back of the couch and covered both of them. With a pleased sigh, he began to stroke Keith’s hair.

“Happy birthday, Keith.”

\-----

A few days later, Keith went to Lance’s apartment for his next photoshoot. As usual, Lazuli was doing a special promotion for the upcoming holiday, and Keith was the most requested model for the bondage themed segment.

Halloween was Keith’s favorite time of year so he’d been excited for this shoot, but upon hearing what his costume would be, he raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“A mummy? Are mummies even sexy?”

Keith had thought he’d get to dress up as a hot witch or maybe a werewolf or something. A crusty, old Egyptian zombie was not what he was expecting.

“Traditionally, no,” Lance said, “but we’ll make it work. Besides, you haven’t tried mummification before, have you?”

As its name suggested, mummification was a type of bondage where the sub was wrapped head to toe. Keith came across it on the internet occasionally, and while it hadn’t peaked his interest as much as some other techniques, he had to admit he was intrigued. 

“We’re gonna do three pinups,” Lance explained. “For the first one, you’ll just be dressed as a pharaoh.”

Taking his costume, Keith went to go change. The main garment was a white tunic that fell down to the middle of his thighs. A wide collar rested over his shoulders and looped down across his clavicles, embroidered with layers and layers of colorful beads. Though it was designed to look like gold, the collar itself was cloth underneath, and rested comfortably against his skin.

Keith wrapped a wide, gold belt around his waist, adjusting it so that the long sash hung down the middle, its pointy end reaching past the gold-trimmed hem of the tunic to brush between his knees. Like the collar, the sash was covered in sparkling beads.

He slipped his feet into a pair of gold sandals and criss-crossed the straps up his calves, then settled the provided wig onto his head. It was even darker than Keith’s real hair, and the straight, thick strands fell down to brush the tops of his shoulders while the bangs nearly reached his eyebrows. A golden circlet with a cobra head attached to the front sat snugly over his brow on top of the wig. Thin, gold chains with little beads on the end dripped down from the crown, contrasting nicely against the black locks.

Keith spent some time on his makeup, smudging kohl around his eyes in the classic Ancient Egyptian style popular in movies. Next, he donned a pair of gold vambraces that covered his forearms. A long, gossamer piece of golden cloth draped from each vambrace, which fluttered prettily when Keith moved his arms. Keith completed the costume with a pair of gold earrings and a few rings on his fingers, then returned to the studio.

The stage was decked out to resemble the inside of an Egyptian palace, with sandy columns and walls decorated here and there with hieroglyphs. In the middle of the stage sat a large chaise lounge. The fabric was a cream color that went nicely with all the gold and stone around it, and Keith found it surprisingly comfortable when Lance beckoned him to sit down. On either side of the couch were two vases that each held a large palm frond, giving the illusion of shade and decadence.

Under Lance’s guidance, Keith laid down sideways, propping himself up on one elbow and curling his legs slightly to emphasize the diagonal slope from his hip to his knee. He let his other arm fall naturally on his waist and sent the camera a sultry stare.

“Yeah, give me that come hither look,” Lance said. “You’re the ruler of this place and you know it.”

Keith did his best to seem haughty and aloof. He tried a few different positions, reclining on the sofa like he was Ra’s gift to mankind. Which he kind of was, if his spotty memory from high school history class was accurate. At one point, Lance even brought him a platter of grapes to eat seductively. Keith felt a little silly, but Lance assured him it looked good.

“Alright, we’ve got plenty of great pictures to choose from,” Lance said. “Before we move on though, I want to do a quick bonus pic for people who buy the whole album.”

He brought over a few coils of rope. They were pitch black with thin, golden strands woven through that glinted in the light. Lance tied Keith’s wrists together behind his back and wound more rope around his chest to pin his biceps. He then helped Keith lay back down on the chaise and tied Keith’s legs together above his knees and again at his ankles. Last but not least, Lance tied a thick knot in the middle of a gold, silk scarf and slipped it between Keith’s lips, cinching the ends behind his head.

“Good?” Lance asked.

“Yhff,” Keith replied around the cloth in his mouth.

He couldn’t help but wriggle a bit while Lance manhandled him into position. Heat curling low in his belly, Keith laid on his side and struggled against his bonds as Lance took more pictures. After a bit, Lance carefully rolled Keith onto his stomach and used more rope to attach his bound ankles to his wrists in a hogtie.

“Mmhhnf,” Keith whined. Every weak attempt to straighten his legs pulled at the rope around his chest, making it feel even tighter.

_ Click click click. _

“Beautiful,” Lance said. “I think we got it.”

After untying Keith, Lance instructed him to remove his jewelry, vambraces, collar, and shoes while Lance changed the set. Left in just the white tunic, wig, and crown, Keith relaxed on the studio sofa until Lance came over with several thick rolls of what looked like white bandages.

“I’m gonna start with your legs,” Lance said. “Let me know if anything feels uncomfortable or painful.”

“Okay.”

Starting at Keith’s toes, Lance wrapped the bandages up and down one of Keith’s legs. He explained that he had to wrap each leg individually first so they wouldn’t rub against each other later, which could chafe his skin. The soft, semi-translucent gauze looped around and around, and Keith fought down a blush when it even went under the skirt of his tunic, finally stopping right below the swell of his ass.

Once both legs were covered, Lance grabbed another roll which he wrapped around Keith’s hips over his clothes. Slowly but surely, the bandages covered more and more of Keith’s torso. Lance instructed Keith to breath in deeply, expanding his ribcage.

“The last thing we want is you fainting like Elizabeth Swann in a corset.” 

“A pirate photoshoot would be pretty cool though,” Keith grinned.

Chuckling, Lance said, “I’ll add it to the list.”

Once Keith’s chest was wrapped from his hips to his armpits, Lance picked up yet another roll and took one of Keith’s hands. Just like his legs, Lance wrapped Keith’s arm up individually, then looped the bandages around his shoulders and collarbones before giving his other arm the same treatment. 

“Okay, now lay down and find a comfortable position for your arms, whether it’s keeping them at your sides, or crossing them over your chest or stomach,” Lance told him. “All that matters is that you can hold them there for an extended period of time.” 

Keith obeyed and after some shifting around he settled on laying his arms parallel to each other over his stomach. Lance had him repeat the position while sitting upright and wound more bandages around Keith’s chest, pinning his arms in place. Keith breathed in deeply to make sure the bindings weren’t too tight. Once Lance was done, Keith squirmed a bit to test it out. Though the gauzy material was thin, Lance had wrapped a good two layers around Keith, and there was little give for him to move about. His legs were still free, so it felt more like a straightjacket than mummification. 

“I’m gonna do the gag next,” Lance said. “You need a sip of water first?”

After considering it, Keith nodded and Lance carefully tipped the water bottle up to Keith’s lips. When Keith had his fill, Lance asked, “What kind of stuffing do you want? The viewers won’t be able to see it, so you can pick whatever you like.”

Keith mulled it over. “A handkerchief,” he decided.

“As the Pharaoh commands,” Lance winked.

He retrieved a white handkerchief and rolled in into a ball, careful to tuck in any loose corners. Keith allowed him to tuck it into his mouth, blushing when Lance pressed a kiss to his lips.

With another roll of bandages, Lance criss-crossed the long strip over around Keith’s shoulders to blend in with the wrappings already there, then wound it up Keith’s neck and chin behind finally covering Keith’s mouth, wrapping it snugly around and around Keith’s head below his nose and ears. Tufts of Keith’s hair poked out in places, giving him a dishevelled appearance.

“How’s that?” Lance asked, tucking the end of the strip into the bandages.

“Mmnhnnf,” Keith wriggled happily. The material was soft but unyielding.

“Good,” Lance kissed him again through the gag. “Let’s get those pretty legs of yours trussed up.”

He helped Keith lay on his back. Setting Keith’s feet on his lap, Lance bound his legs together, starting at the toes and working his way up. This roll was even longer than the others, and once he reached Keith’s waist Lance propped him up again to continue wrapping around Keith’s torso all the way up to his mouth. This made the mummification look neater since it was one long bandage from top to bottom, and the extra layer made the thin material look and feel stronger. 

“I’m not gonna wrap up your head since that would deprive the viewers of your gorgeous face,” Lance said. “Might add a blindfold later as an alternate bonus photo though.”

When Keith was ready, Lance slipped his arms under Keith’s back and knees, carefully lifting him into the air. He carried Keith to the stage where a large, open sarcophagus waited, and set Keith down inside before walking out of sight.

Keith squirmed in place. He knew it going in, but mummification was truly the most restricting bondage he’d tried so far. Not only were Keith’s limbs firmly pinned to his body, but he could barely bend his knees or arch his back either. At most, Keith was able to twist his knees side to side and turn his head, and there wasn’t enough room in the sarcophagus to roll over even if he tried.

Lance reappeared, camera in hand. “Still doing okay?”

“Mmhnn,” Keith nodded.

“Cool,” Lance said. “Do your thing.”

While the shutter clicked, Keith struggled harder against the layers of bandages. It took so much more effort to do even the simplest of things. With his limbs pinned so thoroughly, Keith couldn’t find any kind of purchase, and was forced to wiggle his whole body like a worm. 

“Hnnmgh,” he groaned.

The mummification also trapped his body heat, and after several minutes of intense physical labor Keith could feel his cheeks grow warm as his body began to sweat beneath the gauzy material. The bandages were thin so he didn’t feel overheated or anything, but it wasn’t the most comfortable sensation. He was glad Lance wrapped his legs up individually so they didn’t rub against each other.

“Mmnhrmhh,” Keith whined, his frustration mounting. He could feel the haze of subspace encroaching, tickling at the corners of his mind, but no matter what he did Keith didn’t seem able to sink into it.

“How are we feeling?” Lance asked. “Wanna add a blindfold?”

Keith considered it. Maybe a blindfold would help him lose himself.

Once Keith gave his consent, Lance propped him up and wound another roll of bandages around his eyes, each layer blocking more light from Keith’s vision. He settled back down and tried once more to fall into subspace.

The blindfold did help a little. The extra sensory deprivation allowed Keith to focus more on his body and mind, and relish how helpless he felt. Unfortunately, it also emphasized the heat of his skin and his frustration soon returned. 

Keith liked being bound and gagged. He liked giving up control and feeling helpless. But a part of that fun was being able to struggle against his bonds and pretend to be defiant. Wrapped up so thoroughly like this, Keith could barely fight back. He didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t getting him going as much as most other things they’d tried.

“Okay, great,” Lance said. “Ready to move on?”

Keith nodded and Lance carried him back to the sofa. He undid the blindfold and gag before starting the long process of freeing the rest of Keith.

“What did you think?” Lance asked. When Keith relayed his experience, Lance nodded. “I thought that could be the case. You’re a feisty sub. Some people enjoy being rendered as powerless as possible, but others have a sweet spot like you.”

“That makes sense.”

“Still, it’s good to try things out,” Lance added with a grin. “Learning what kinds of things you don’t like is just as important as learning what you do like.”

Keith agreed. Finally free of the bandages, he let out a sigh of relief as cool air touched his skin. They took a half hour break where Keith relaxed and drank water while Lance pampered him with a massage, then Lance sent Keith back to the bathroom to change into a new costume for the final pinup.

The clothes were identical to the pharaoh garb except ripped in several places and dyed to look old. The jewelry was similarly scratched and tarnished. Keith stripped down to his underwear and popped open the bottle of body paint Lance gave him. By the time he was done, his skin looked pale white like a vampire or zombie, and Keith’s violet irises were covered by blood red contacts.

He returned to the studio and sat back down in the sarcophagus. Lance fussed over him a bit, tussling the wig to look more disheveled and removing one of his shoes altogether, before procuring a new roll of bandages. These, too, were made to look ancient, the color weathered and the material torn here and there. He didn’t encase Keith again, but rather wrapped a handful of bandages loosely around his body and limbs so they draped down. The overall effect looked like Keith, after centuries of struggling, had finally managed to claw himself free of his restraints.

Under Lance’s direction, Keith slowly climbed out of the sarcophagus. He fixed a menacing stare on the camera lens and thought about wreaking havoc on the world in revenge for being trapped for so long.

“Ooh, scary,” Lance grinned. “You look like you’re about to eat me. Not gonna lie, it’s kinda hot.”

“Do mummies eat people?” Keith asked. He bared his fake vampire fangs. 

Lance shrugged. “I mean, you’re not exactly a traditional mummy. You’re more like a sexy mummy-zombie-vampire-demon...thing.”

Keith snorted.

“Okay, one last bonus pic of this version of you tied up, and then that’ll be a wrap.” Lance paused with a smirk. “Literally.”

Keith rolled his eyes. 

Retrieving a pair of gold manacles, Lance threw the long chain over a rafter on the ceiling and clamped them around Keith’s wrists. He pulled the chain so that Keith’s arms were suspended over his head, locking it in place. Lance bound Keith’s ankles together with another pair of manacles and gagged him with a black ball gag that contrasted sharply with his white fangs.

The chains rattled as Keith tugged against them. After a handful of shots, Lance tied a long strip of gold silk over Keith’s eyes. Gagged and blindfolded, Keith let out a soft moan. Yes, this was much better.

Floating happily in subspace, Keith barely noticed the clicking had stopped until he felt a warm presence appear behind him. Nimble fingers fumbled with the small buckle at the back of Keith’s head, removing the ball gag, and two large hands reached around his waist. Keith let out a small moan when one of the hands brushed up his abdomen to tweak his chest. 

The other hand caught Keith’s chin, turning his head to the side so that his lips could be captured by Lance’s. As Lance’s licked into Keith’s mouth, Keith pressed himself further back against Lance’s chest and tugged petulantly at the chains that still held his arms above his head.

“Mmnghnhh,” he whimpered, breath hitching when Lance nipped at his bottom lip.

That talented tongue moved down to worship Keith’s neck, and Keith tipped his head to the side to grant Lance better access only for Lance to suddenly jerk away with a disgusted noise. 

Keith paused. “Lance? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Lance said. He sounded like he was trying to spit something out of his mouth. “I forgot you were wearing body paint for a second.”

Blinking behind his blindfold, Keith burst into laughter. Lance apparently decided to punish this behavior by spinning Keith around and ravishing his mouth again, which Keith couldn’t complain about too much despite wrinkling his nose at the taste. Fingers pushed into his hair, dislodging the wig and crown so they fell onto the floor and Lance grabbed fistfulls of his hair to yank Keith’s head back.

“A-ah!” Keith cried. His moans were quickly muffled by Lance’s mouth descending upon his once more.

Over time, the passionate kiss mellowed out. The possessive lips and tongue showed mercy, transforming into slow, languid motions that were no less toe-curling. By the time Lance pulled back, Keith was a blissed out pile of goo, only remaining on his feet thanks to the manacles and Lance’s embrace.

He felt Lance rest their foreheads together, their breath intermingling between them. After a moment, Lance pressed a chaste kiss to Keith’s lips and reached up to fiddle with his bonds. Once Keith was free, Lance carried him over to the sofa for aftercare.

Though they hadn’t done more than kiss, Keith felt perfectly content while Lance massaged his wrists and ankles. His mind soon cleared, but the warmth stayed with him for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween! 
> 
> I hope no one was too disappointed that Keith wasn’t super into the mummification, but I thought it was important to explore him trying new things and not necessarily being into everything. 
> 
> I know it’s a bit early, but I’d like to get y’all’s opinion on the december chapter. Do you want another Christmas themed photoshoot? Or something else? Let me know in the comments!
> 
> See you next time! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/


	13. V...Voltron?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I even need to describe the outfits for this one lmao. Just to avoid confusion, Lance talks about Voltron like it’s the old 80s anime, but the outfits and character designs they use will be from VLD.
> 
> Also, thanks for your patience! I think I jinxed myself last chapter by mentioning the update schedule lol. This past month got pretty busy, and then when I finally had time to write, the chapter didn’t want to cooperate. I’ll try to get the next one out by Christmas, but, uh, we’ll see how things go...
> 
> Enjoy! (๑¯◡¯๑)

“Babe, you’re here!” Lance gave Keith a peck on the cheek and ushered him into the apartment. “Are you excited for today’s shoot?”

“Not as excited as you are, apparently,” Keith said, raising his eyebrows.

Lance rubbed the back of his neck with a bashful grin. “Guilty. I can’t help it, this is the biggest commission Lazuli’s gotten to date, and it’s for one of my favorite shows.”

“The customer must have paid a lot for three models at once,” Keith acknowledged. Stepping into the studio he gave Lotor and Allura a little wave. “I’ve never seen the show myself. It’s an anime, right?”

“Yeah. Think Power Rangers but they pilot giant robot lions.”

“That’s cool, I guess,” Keith said. “Who will I be?”

“You’re the red paladin, leader of the team,” Lance replied. “Allura is the alien princess and Lotor is the evil prince.”

“A role I was born to play,” Lotor smirked with a flip of his hair.

Allura tutted. “Stay still,” she groused. “I’m not done.”

“Sorry, love.”

Lotor shifted in his seat to give Allura a better angle while she covered his face in lavender body paint. He was already in costume, wearing some kind of dark indigo body armor with blue and orange accents. Pointy, elf-like ears adorned his head that matched the color of his face paint, and contacts made his sclera look yellow.

“Here,” Lance handed Keith his outfit. “While Allura’s finishing that up, you go change.”

“Okay.”

The costume was simple enough, despite the numerous parts of armor. Keith slipped on the black bodysuit, which reminded him a little of a unitard, followed by a white belt and chest plate. More futuristic white and red armor went onto his legs and arms. Checking his reflection in the mirror, Keith tapped at the little, glowing accents on his shoulders. Huh. Neat.

By the time Keith returned to the studio, Allura was gone and Lotor was lounging on the sofa, scrolling through his phone with a bored expression. Lance appeared to be busy putting the finishing touches on the set, so Keith sat down next to Lotor.

“So, uh,” he said after a brief pause, “how’ve you been?”

Lotor pocketed his phone and flashed Keith a handsome smile. “Quite well, thank you for asking. And you? A little birdie told me you and Lance have gotten rather close lately.”

“Oh,” blushing, Keith cleared his throat. “Um, yeah, we have.”

“I’m happy for you,” Lotor said. “Lance has seemed much more cheerful in our last few shoots, you know.”

A small smile curled Keith’s lips. “Really?”

“Oh yes. A vast improvement over when he was a pining mess, if you ask me.”

“Wait, what?”

“You didn’t notice? Adorable.”

Not sure how to respond, Keith asked, “So, are you looking forward to today’s shoot?”

Lotor let Keith’s awkward attempt to change the subject slide with a knowing look. “I am. I enjoyed our last joint session immensely, and would never say no to working with Allura. She’s a true professional. Many of my favorite shoots have included her in some manner. Ah, speak of the devil.”

Following his gaze, Keith saw Allura walk into the room. She wore a space suit similar to Keith’s, but with pink accents instead of red, and her snow white hair was pulled into a large bun.

“Keith, it’s wonderful to see you again,” Allura said, smiling when Keith stood up to accept her hug. “Lance tells me the two of you finally got together?”

“Uh, yeah,” Keith blushed again. What, did all the models know? “I hope that’s not weird or anything for you guys.”

“Not at all,” Allura assured him. “We’re just happy you found each other.”

“If nothing else, it should make things more interesting,” Lotor said. “Don’t be afraid to give us a show if the mood strikes.”

Heat rushed to Keith’s face. While he spluttered incoherently, Allura smacked Lotor on the shoulder.

“Lotor,” she scolded. The effect was diminished somewhat by the poorly concealed mirth in her eyes. “Ignore him, Keith. He may look like a gentleman, but he can be quite the scoundrel.”

A sly smirk slid across Lotor’s lips. “As if you would have me any other way.”

Allura rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything else Lance called them over.

“Okay, the stage is set,” he said. “Everybody ready?”

With their assent, he directed them into position. The stage resembled the inside of a sci-fi space ship with dark, metal walls and blinking lights. 

“The red paladin and the princess have infiltrated an enemy Galra ship on a mission to steal classified information,” Lance narrated. “To their surprise, the leader of the Galra, the evil prince himself, just happens to be onboard as well!”

Keith and Allura pretended to fight Lotor with their weapons, or bayards, as Lance put it. Keith’s was a large, red sword that he actually found to be pretty badass. He wondered if Lance would let him keep it as a souvenir.

Apparently, Keith wasn’t the only one who had some training in stage combat. Both Allura and Lotor struck several cool poses for the camera, and despite not having any planned choreography, the fight went smoothly. It certainly helped that they were posing for still images rather than a video or live audience.

“The red paladin and princess fight valiantly,” Lance continued, “but alas, the prince is cunning! He turns the princess’ weapon against her and manages to subdue her.”

Lotor grabbed Allura’s glowing whip and tugged. When she stumbled into his chest, Lotor swifty wrapped the whip around her, pinning her arms, and made a karate chop motion at the back of her neck. In true anime fashion, Allura fell to the floor, unconscious.

“Enraged, the red paladin swoops in to save his teammate,” Lance said dramatically, “but it turns out he’s no match for the prince alone.”

Keith charged at Lotor with his blade. They dualed for a few shots, Lotor’s weapon also being a sword, before the evil prince gained the upper hand. He forced Keith to drop his bayard and twisted Keith’s arm behind his back. Lotor’s other hand came up to grasp Keith’s jaw, forcing him to look directly at the camera while he squirmed in the taller man’s hold.

“This is the money shot, darling,” Lotor purred in his ear. 

He pressed a cloth over Keith’s mouth and nose. It didn’t have any chloroform on it, but Keith pretended to fall asleep, going limp in Lotor’s arms.

“Perfect!” Lance said. “Let’s move on to the next scene.”

He changed the backdrop to another interior space ship design. This one was much more solid, and looked more like a futuristic dungeon than a control room. Four sets of glowing, semi-transparent manacles were attached to the wall, two pairs slightly above eye level and two pairs just above the floor.

Lance helped Keith into one set while Lotor helped Allura into the other. Oddly enough, the material the manacles were made out of felt kind of like seat belts.

“Having fun?” Lance asked as he tightened one around Keith’s wrist.

“Yeah,” Keith smiled. “I like doing solo shoots, but working with others adds a whole new dynamic.”

“If you want, you can do it more often.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Accepting this answer, Lance finished up strapping Keith’s ankles to the wall and stood up to insert a small, red ball gag into his mouth. He then wrapped a strip of the seatbelt-like material over Keith’s lips. Keith wondered how they got it to glow blue like that. He turned his head to see Lotor doing the same to Allura, though her ball gag was pink beneath the strip.

Lance and Lotor stepped off the stage, and under Lance’s direction Keith and Allura pretended to wake up.

Keith’s eyes fluttered open. He looked around blearily, slowly realizing what had happened. Brows furrowed, he tugged against the manacles, but they didn’t budge. A small, muffled noise drew his attention to his fellow captive.

“Mmnhf?” Confusion played out on Allura’s face, which soon turned into distress as Allura stared back at him with wide eyes. “Hnhf!”

“Mnhrhf,” Keith tried to respond.

The two struggled against their bonds. According to Lance, Keith’s character was hot-headed and stubborn—“Just like you. Ow!”—so he kept that in mind, fighting the tantalizing curls of subspace with irritation at being caught by the enemy.

After several snaps of the shutter, Lotor sauntered onstage. He grasped Allura’s chin with a smirk, tipping her face up to look into her defiant eyes.

“Princess,” he greeted, “you look beautiful as always. So kind of you to drop in for a visit, my dear.”

Allura jerked away, her glare at odds with the pink blush on her cheeks. Chuckling, Lotor stepped over to Keith.

“And you brought company. I must admit, I had hoped to get some alone time with you, but I suppose I can make an exception for the red paladin. There’s no denying he, too, is one of the finest jewels in the universe.”

Great, now Keith was blushing too. How could Lotor say such cheesy lines with a straight face? He hadn’t acted out dialogue last time they worked together, but Keith recalled that it was Allura’s preferred method of modeling and Lotor did mention they’d done shoots together in the past. Keith probably should have expected it, really. Wait, was he supposed to play along?

Noticing Keith’s hesitance, Lotor reached out to caress his face.

“Don’t worry, darling,” he said quietly, his mask still in place for the camera. “Allura and I like to act out our roles, but you can just do whatever you feel comfortable with. At least you don’t have to worry about improvising dialogue,” he teased, tapping the pad of his index finger against the gag covering Keith’s lips.

Keith huffed through his nose. He nodded, then slipped back into character by turning away from Lotor with a scowl. A strong hand fisted in Keith’s hair and yanked, forcing Keith to meet Lotor’s gaze.

“Mmph!” he yelped.

“Now, now,” Lotor tutted. “It’s rude to ignore someone when they’re talking to you.”

He went back and forth between Keith and Allura, seductively interrogating them for information and making thinly veiled threats. Either Lotor was familiar with the show or he was an amazing actor. He mentioned things like “Oriande” and “Sincline” and other words Keith had never heard of before. 

“We shan’t tell you anything,” Allura declared, her gag having been removed a little while ago.

Lotor smirked. He cupped her face in a lover’s hold, looking deeply into her eyes.

“Don’t worry, love,” he said. “I have other ways of making you talk.”

The camera clicked away as Lotor kissed her, and Allura put up a good front of being defiant yet clearly caught under the prince’s spell. She trembled and moaned beneath his ministrations.

For his part, Keith tried to look furious that the villain dared to take such liberties. Just in case he was still in the frame.

Lotor finally drew back. They gaze into one another’s eyes for a long moment, and even though it was all an act and Keith was literally chained in place, he couldn’t help but feel like he was intruding on something intimate.

Then Allura headbutted Lotor.

Well, not really. But she faked doing so, and Lotor played along. He stepped away with a snarl.

“You’ll pay for that, Princess,” he said. Allura thrashed against him but he managed to shove the gag back into her mouth. “Why don’t you take some time to think about what you did and I’ll be back once you’ve cooled off.”

Grabbing her chin, Lotor pressed another kiss to her cheek.

“Mmph!” Allura protested, wrenching her face away,

Lotor smiled and walked over to Keith to kiss his cheek as well.

“I’ll be back, my dears,” he said, walking off stage. “Try not to miss me too much.”

Thus, the prince left to the helpless paladins bound and gagged in the dungeon.

“That was fantastic!” Lance grinned. “Okay, let’s move on.”

He and Lotor freed Keith and Allura from their bonds, then the models took a break before changing into their next costumes. Back in the bathroom, Keith donned a dark gray t-shirt and black jeans, followed by a leather jacket. The jacket was red and black with yellow accents, and had a high collar while the hem was cropped short. To complete the costume, he slipped on a pair of black, fingerless gloves and boots that were colored red, black, and white.

Keith returned to the studio and chatted with Lance and Lotor while they waited for Allura. Soon she arrived in her character’s casual clothes, though they were far less casual than Keith’s, which he supposed made sense for a princess. Her dress was long and elegant, and matched her paladin armor’s pink, white and blue color scheme. Her snow white hair cascaded down her back in a waterfall of curls, and a gold circlet rested on her brow.

Smiling, Lotor pressed a kiss to her back of Allura’s hand. “You look gorgeous, my dear.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Do you not get a costume change?”

Now that she mentioned it, Keith realized Lotor was still wearing the same clothes as before. They all looked to Lance, who shrugged.

“The prince basically only has the one outfit,” he told them. “Sorry, dude.”

“Disappointing, but I’ll make it work,” Lotor sniffed.

Lance took them over to the set, which resembled some kind of lounge area.

“This is the team’s headquarters,” he waved at the stage, “the castleship. As its name suggests, it’s both a castle and a spaceship. The characters use it to travel and fight bad guys, but it’s also just where they live. For this scene, the princess and the red paladin are going about their business, but little do they know the evil prince has snuck onboard to kidnap them!”

They did Allura’s scene first. Keith watched from the studio sofa as she pretended to read a book, unaware of the prince creeping up behind her. Lotor clamped a handkerchief over Allura’s mouth and nose, muffling her startled cry, and looped his other arm around her middle, pinning her arms. The two struggled for a few moments while Lance snapped pictures from every angle. Then, finally, Allura went limp.

Lotor used thin, pink rope to bind Allura’s wrists and ankles, followed by two pink strips of cloth as a gag and blindfold. Clearly their paladin colors were a running theme. Picking Allura up princess style, Lotor carried her off the stage.

It was Keith’s turn next. Lance swapped out some of the furniture to make it look like a different part of the castleship, and gave Keith a cool knife and a whetstone. He had Keith lounge sexily on a chair, sharpening the blade, equally as oblivious to the villain that was almost upon him.

Lotor swooped in to subdue Keith the same way he did Allura. Keith tried to fend off his attacker with the knife, but the prince easily caught his wrist and squeezed, forcing Keith to drop it with a muffled yelp. After some time, he, too, fell unconscious, and Lotor bound, gagged, and blindfolded him with red restraints before throwing Keith over his shoulder and absconding.

While Lance switched out the set again, the models took a short break. Lotor untied Allura’s arms so she could drink some water, while Keith declined the offer, opting to remain in bondage until the next scene. Only his wrists and ankles were bound, and not too tightly at that, so it was easier to just stay tied up. He began to regret his decision when Allura noticed him squirming a bit and smirked.

“Fun, isn’t it?” she said. 

Blushing, Keith admitted, “The job has its perks.”

Allura laughed. “It’s true! So much better than fashion shoots.”

“You’ve done fashion shoots?” Keith asked, intrigued. “Like, for magazines and stuff?”

“I’ve dabbled here and there.”

“She’s being modest,” Lotor cut in. “Allura was once in the running to become one of the most famous models in the country.”

“Wow, really?”

“You’re exaggerating,” Allura rolled her eyes. “I did a handful of gigs for some high profile companies, is all. My agent at the time did try to push me to get more fame and connections, but I just found the whole environment to be quite, well, distasteful,” she wrinkled her nose. “So much of the industry runs on gossip and screwing other people over. I loved the modeling part, but hated everything else. Eventually, it became too much and I quit.”

“Oh,” Keith said. 

“It was for the best,” Allura shrugged. “My mental health and social life drastically improved. The only downside was that I feared I wouldn’t be able to model anymore. But then I met Lance.” Her face lit up into a brilliant smile. “I was a bit hesitant at first, of course, given the, erm, subject material. But I decided to give it a go and enjoyed myself more than I thought possible. Lance is honestly more professional than half the other photographers I’ve worked with, and I’ve made many good friends through Lazuli.”

“That’s amazing,” Keith said honestly. “I’m glad that it all worked out for you.”

“It did, didn’t it?” Allura’s smile turned sly. “Seems it’s worked out quite well for you too.”

Heat returned to Keith’s cheeks.

“Now, now, darling, you needn’t tease him so,” Lotor drawled. “We promised our dear photographer that we’d be good, remember? Though I understand the appeal. His face turns quite a lovely shade of red.”

“It does,” Allura agreed with delight.

Okay, now Keith was definitely regretting his choice to remain tied up, since it rendered him unable to escape their gleeful gazes. Thankfully, Lance soon came to his rescue.

“Alright, the stage is all set,” he said. “Ready to get back to it?”

“Of course,” Lotor replied. He turned to Allura. “May I assist you to your mark, Princess?”

“You may,” she replied imperiously.

Lotor picked her up bridal style and carried her to the set. Watching them, Keith gave Lance a questioning look.

“What’s up?” Lance asked.

“Nothing, I just…” Keith bit his lip and lowered his voice. “Maybe I’m totally off base here, but...isn’t Allura dating Romelle?”

Observing the other two models talking and laughing with each other, the only word that came to Keith’s mind was, ‘flirtatious.’

“Oh. Yeah, she is, but Allura and Romelle have some kind of open poly thing with Lotor too,” Lance said. “I don’t know all the details. Never asked since it’s not really my business, y’know?”

“Oh,” Keith said. “That’s cool.”

Lance nodded. He picked Keith up and brought him over to the others. The set was decked out to look like what Keith presumed was the evil prince’s bedroom. Like the previous scenes, it was sleek and futuristic, and most of the stage was taken up by a large bed.

Allura already sat on the mattress, her arms tied once more behind her back and her legs tucked beneath her at an angle so that her bound ankles peeked out from the hem of her dress. Lance arranged Keith to sit back-to-back with her in a similar position. He then wound a length of thin, black rope around both of them, tying them together.

Lance gagged and blindfolded Keith again while Lotor did the same to Allura. When the photographer gave the word, the two captives began to struggle.

Being tied to another person was...interesting. Every move Allura made tugged at the rope that held them together, and Keith could feel her body heat pressed against his back. The closeness of her muffled whimpers made Keith more aware of his own soft moans and the gag in his mouth.

Footsteps came closer, and Allura and Keith both instinctively went still. A low chuckle caressed their ears.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Lotor said. “I’m quite enjoying the show.”

Rising to the bait despite their better judgement, the two paladins renewed their struggling with fervor, cursing the evil prince as best they could. Of course, all they succeeded in doing was increasing each other’s discomfort as they thrashed against the rope.

Lotor chuckled again. Long fingers combed through Keith’s hair before tracing down his jaw.

“The princess and I had a bit of fun last time, but you weren’t able to join in before the two of you escaped,” Lotor said, his thumb brushing against Keith’s lips through the gag. “Shall we remedy that, darling?”

He removed the cloth so Keith could speak. “I...Sure, I guess. If Lance doesn’t mind.”

“What say you, director?” Lotor asked. 

Keith had to admit, the long moment of hesitation felt pretty good.

“If Keith is okay with it, so am I,” Lance finally said. “But this is strictly professional, got it? You better not use it to seduce my boyfriend.”

Though he couldn’t see, Keith could practically hear Lotor rolling his eyes.

“I’ll do my utmost,” he said dryly. “Though it’s hardly my fault if my technique is better than yours.”

While Lance spluttered incoherently, a pair of lips descended upon Keith’s. They were thinner than Lance’s, less soft, but clearly more experienced, and they quickly pried Keith’s mouth open so a wet tongue could slip inside. The hand cradling his jaw slid back to fist his hair and _ yanked, _ forcing Keith’s head to tip back with a muffled yelp. Between the unrelenting heat of Lotor ravishing his mouth and the scorching body trapping him from behind, Keith felt overwhelmed, drowning in an ocean of sensation. 

With one last nip at Keith’s bottom lip, Lotor pulled away. “Did you get a good shot?”

“Fuck you,” Lance replied, his voice cracking. “Fuck. That was hot. Okay, no, sorry, we’re in professional mode.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, that was good, let’s move on.”

Releasing his grip on Keith’s hair, Lotor gave him a little pat on the head. “Good work, darling, that was quite enjoyable. Do let me know if you and Lance ever want...company.”

Keith thought back to what Lance said about Lotor’s relationship with Allura and Romelle, and his already flushed face burned even brighter.

“I said we’re moving on!” Lance shrieked.

Lotor placed the gag back into Keith’s mouth, then shuffled around to play with Allura. Still blindfolded, Keith couldn’t tell what exactly they were doing, but judging by the sounds and how much Allura squirmed against his back, it was something similar to Lotor’s interactions with Keith.

Next, he and Lance untied them for new positions. Keith lost most of his clothes until all he wore was his jacket, black briefs, and fingerless gloves, while Allura switched out her princess dress for an identical one that had been strategically torn in several places to peek at her lingerie underneath. While Lotor went about trussing her up into a hogtie, Lance had Keith lay back on the bed so he could tie Keith’s wrists to the headboard. He then used more red rope to bind Keith’s legs into a frog tie.

They weren’t blindfolded again, but the red and pink ball gags made a reappearance. Lotor lounged in the middle of the bed, propped up against the headboard by several pillows. On the prince’s left, Keith writhed on his back, tugging against his bonds. On Lotor’s right, Allura laid on her stomach, arms bound behind her back and attached to her ankles as she wriggled in place. Taking a sip of wine, the evil prince smirked into the lens as his captives struggled.

“Alright, prefect!” Lance said. “That’s a wrap on Lotor and Allura. Keith, you have one more scene.”

“By myself?” Keith asked after Lotor removed the ball gag.

“Yep,” Lance replied. “Well, sort of. I’ll explain later.”

Accepting this, Keith took another break while Lotor and Allura changed back into their normal clothes. Before they left, Allura gave Keith a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.

“I had a lovely time working with you, Keith,” she said. “Let’s do this again soon!”

“Sure,” Keith said. “I had fun too.”

“We all did,” Lotor smiled. “Perhaps if this album sells well, which it undoubtedly will, we’ll get more commissions like this one. Or if our illustrious director sees fit to share you again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance rolled his eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t hear what you said to Keith earlier. You’re on thin fuckin’ ice, buddy.”

Lotor didn’t seem particularly concerned. On the contrary, he gave Keith a wink and said, “Remember my offer, darling,” before linking his arm with Allura’s and walking out the door.

Now that they were alone, Lance and Keith exchanged an awkward look.

“You’re not interested in his offer,” Lance asked, “right?”

Keith blinked. “I don’t think so? I’ve never even thought about it until now.”

“I mean, I’m not totally opposed to the idea of, like, inviting someone for a little fun,” Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “But, uh, I don’t know how I’d feel about having to share you, um, emotionally speaking, y’know?”

Keith’s face felt like it was on fire.

“I feel like this is a conversation for when we’ve been together longer,” he said. Hell, they’d only had sex a handful of times, Keith was hardly in a hurry to add another person into the mix.

“Totally,” Lance agreed, sounding relieved. “I’m more than happy with just the two of us right now, and if we ever want to try something else we can talk about it then.” He paused. “Maybe not Lotor though. That guy is weird.”

Keith snorted. “Good kisser though,” he offered.

Taking the bait, Lance narrowed his eyes. “Better than me?”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Keith said innocently. “Maybe you should come over here and remind me of your skills so I can compare.”

Needless to say, it was a while before they got back to the photoshoot. Eventually, though, Lance handed Keith his third and final costume. It was a form of body armor similar to the paladin suit, but darker and sleeker. The skintight bottom layer was gray while the sturdier outer layers were black, and the chest plate had four thin lines that glowed purple. Subtle, dark blue accented the thighs, gauntlets, and under the shoulders, and Keith pulled the black hood up over his head.

When he returned to the studio, Lance let out a low whistle.

“Damn,” he said, “I knew that would look good on you.”

“Is this outfit for the same character?” Keith asked. There wasn’t a trace of red in sight.

“Yeah. A big part of the red paladin’s story arc is about how he discovers he’s half alien,” Lance explained. “It turns out his mom was a member of this secret group of rebel ninja assassins called the Blade of Marmora and he joins up to try to learn more about her.”

“Huh.”

“It’s pretty cool until he leaves the team to join them. Did not care for that part.”

“So what are we doing?” Keith glanced at the set. 

“For this scene your character went on a mission for the Blade but got captured,” Lance said. “Luckily, you managed to get a distress signal out in time, and your teammate, the dashing blue paladin, comes to your rescue.”

He struck a heroic pose. 

Keith perked up. “You’re gonna model with me?”

“Yup,” Lance plucked a costume off the rack. It was identical to Keith’s paladin outfit except blue instead of red. “The client was very specific. Normally I’d be a little reticent, but it’s only for a bit at the end, and they paid a _ lot _ of money. Plus,” he winked, “it’s hard to turn down an excuse to be more hands on with my favorite model.”

Blushing, Keith rolled his eyes.

The set was another space dungeon, but a large, metal grid stood parallel to the backdrop. It reminded Keith of jail bars that went both vertically and horizontally. Lance instructed Keith to sit on the floor with his back pressed against the bars, assuring him that they were firmly drilled into the stage.

Using red rope, Lance tied Keith’s wrists to the bars at about eye level on either side of his head. He then looped more rope around each of Keith’s thighs just above his knee and attached those to the bars as well, forcing Keith’s legs to stay spread apart. Not painfully so, but enough that his muscles burned pleasantly when he pulled against the restraints.

Lance leaned back on his heels to admire his work, blue eyes raking over Keith’s body in a way that made the model shudder. A large, warm hand cupped Keith’s face.

“Have I ever told you you’re beautiful?”

Keith pretended to think about it. “Maybe once or twice.”

Chuckling, Lance brushed his thumb over Keith’s cheekbone and drew closer. “Well, I’d better fix that. You’re beautiful.” He kissed Keith’s other cheek. “Gorgeous.” He kissed Keith’s forehead. “Ravishing.” He kissed Keith’s nose. “Breathtaking.” Finally, he kissed Keith’s lips.

Keith’s teasing smirk disappeared as heat rushed to his cheeks. Embarrassed by the sudden onslaught of praise, he moved to hide his face only to realize his wrists were still bound to the bars. This made him squirm even more, much to Lance’s obvious delight.

“How can you say stuff like that with a straight face?” Keith mumbled.

“Because it’s true,” Lance said. “Words can’t describe how beautiful you are, babe. That’s why I have to express it through the magic of photography,” he winked.

Keith scoffed, but the butterflies in his stomach persisted. 

“You...” Glancing away, Keith cleared his throat. “You’re beautiful too, Lance.”

He didn’t dare look back to see Lance’s expression, too wrapped up in his own self-consciousness, until gentle fingers grasped Keith’s chin and tilted his face back. Before he could do or say anything, Lance’s mouth descended upon his own, immediately deepening the kiss while those long fingers pushed back into Keith’s hair.

Little moans and whimpers crawled up Keith’s throat. He strained against his bonds, but remained helpless to do anything but submit to Lance as the man plundered his mouth and tugged his hair.

With one last toe-curling lick, Lance pulled away, leaving Keith wanton and panting. Before Keith could catch his breath, Lance stuffed a balled up handkerchief into his mouth, and the sudden act shot a jolt of heat down to his already half-hard member.

“Mmnhhf,” Keith moaned.

Retrieving a roll of shiny, black tape, Lance cut off a short strip and smoothed it over Keith’s lips. He added two more layers before pressing a slow, languid kiss to Keith’s mouth through the gag.

“How’s that, babe?” he asked softly. “Feel good?”

The warmth of subspace curled around Keith’s mind.

“Hnnmhmm,” he sighed.

“Good,” Lance kissed him again before standing up. He set up his camera on a low tripod and fiddled with it so that it began to take pictures automatically every few seconds.

“I’m gonna go change into costume. You enjoy yourself for a bit, and if you need anything just make a loud noise. I’ll keep the door open so I can hear you.”

Keith nodded. While waiting, he focused on the ropes around his wrists, pinning his arms in place; the ropes around his thighs, keeping his legs spread and his arousal on full display beneath his clothes; the sticky tape over his lips, sealing them shut. He squirmed and writhed, but his bonds held firm, and Keith’s mind sank deeper and deeper into that nice haze, the steady _ click click click _ of the camera his only company. 

“Keith,” a low voice murmured.

Keith opened his eyes to find Lance kneeling beside him dressed as the blue paladin. It was a good look. 

A gloved hand caressed Keith’s cheek, and, still drunk on subspace, he leaned into the touch with a purr.

“I’m here to rescue you, Keith,” Lance said. “But it’s not every day I get to see you like this, so helpless and wanting. Why don’t we have a little fun first?”

Settling in between Keith’s legs, he slipped one hand behind Keith’s head, threading his fingers through the dark, inky locks, and ran the other hand up Keith’s side. A hot, wet mouth latched onto Keith’s neck, and he tilted his head back for a better angle, letting out a muffled whine as Lance worshipped the sensitive flesh.

When their bodies lined up just right, Lance and Keith both let out a gasp. Lance rocked his hips forward, and even while still clothed the friction was enough to send wave after wave of pleasure coursing through Keith. 

They continued to rut against one another, and all Keith knew were the lips sucking harshly beneath his jaw and the fingers tangled in his hair and the hard heat grinding against his own, until finally stars burst across his vision and he shuddered with a muffled keen.

Lance came shortly after, his groan reverberating against Keith’s skin. He let go of Keith’s hair to wrap his arms around Keith’s waist, pressing lazy kisses to wherever he could reach. They sat like that for a moment. Lance held Keith like he was something precious and Keith basked in it, still submerged in subspace and the afterglow.

Eventually, Lance pulled away, though he didn’t go far. Just enough so that they could look at each other.

“Was that okay?” Lance asked. “I know we didn’t really talk about it beforehand.”

Keith nodded. He held still so Lance could peel off the tape gag and remove the stuffing. 

“That was amazing,” Keith said. “Though maybe next time we should do it with less clothes. Now that the high is wearing off, my underwear feels...pretty gross.”

Lance looked down at his own groin with a grimace. “Good thing these costumes aren’t rentals.”

He freed Keith and they took turns in the bathroom to clean up as best they could before returning to the studio. The was one last shot the client had specifically asked for.

Lance picked Keith up bridal style with a charming grin. Rolling his eyes, Keith nonetheless tightened his arms around Lance’s neck and rewarded his “savior” with a kiss.

_ Click. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for skipping the aftercare, but it felt like a good place to end the chapter, plus I didn’t want to delay it any longer for y’all. Rest assured, Lance pampered Keith to his heart’s content afterwards.
> 
> What are the glowing bands Lance used on Keith and Allura in the first scene? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Who knows. Usually I try to find real materials and toys, but this time I was like, fuck it, magic space manacles.
> 
> Also, I never really noticed until doing research for this chapter, but Lotor basically only has one outfit lol. Yet another way in which our poor prince was robbed smh.
> 
> I do have an outline for a Christmas chapter which I’m hoping to post by the 25th. That said, it will be much shorter than most chapters, and also kind of an interlude. Let’s just say there will be bondage but it won’t be for a photoshoot ;)
> 
> See you next time! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/


	14. Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! And Happy Holidays to those who don’t celebrate Christmas!
> 
> This chapter is a lot shorter than usual but I hope the content makes up for it ;)

Taking a sip of hot cocoa, Lance admired the decorations strewn across his living room. He had really gone all out this year. Garlands hung on the walls, mistletoe dangled from the ceiling, and cute snowflake decals covered the windows. 

The pièce de résistance was, of course, the christmas tree tucked into the corner. It was taller than Lance and dripping with baubles and multicolored lights. He and Keith spent nearly three hours decorating the thing, but the end result was well worth the effort in his humble opinion. It looked like something out of a christmas card, complete with several brightly wrapped presents piled up beneath the branches.

Amongst them was one particularly large present. The box was covered in red wrapping paper and had an enormous bow on top. 

Lance walked up to the gift and took another drink, his belly warmed by the splash of rum he’d mixed in. 

“This present sure is big,” he said aloud. “I wonder what’s in it? The curiosity is killing me. Maybe I should just go ahead and open it.”

The box jostled ever so slightly.

“Then again, Christmas will be here in a couple of hours. I could probably wait that long.”

The box moved again, this time accompanied by a muffled noise.

“Yeah, I should just wait,” Lance decided. “Wouldn’t want to get on Santa’s bad side.”

With a smirk, he moved away to plop down on the couch, drinking more hot cocoa while the gift rocked slightly in place. After a bit, he set his empty mug aside and fished a small box out of his pocket that was wrapped in paper matching the larger box.

“What’s this?” he gasped. “Another present? Well, I guess I could open this one early. It’s so small.”

Lance tore the paper off to reveal a jewelry box. Inside, he found a remote.

“Oooh, a new toy. Wonder what this does?”

Upon pushing the button, a muffled buzzing emanated from the large box.

“Mmph!” the box yelped, jostling even more. “Hmnf mhhg!”

Chuckling, Lance spent the next several minutes playing with the remote and seeing what reactions it got. Finally, he turned it off and walked back to kneel beside the box.

A quick tug unravelled the bow, allowing Lance to lift the heavy lid. When he peered inside, a pair of large, violet eyes blinked up at him.

Keith sat curled up in the cushioned interior. He wore a sexy Santa dress made of rich, crimson velvet with fluffy, white trimming lining the hem, collar, and sleeves. The skirt was short and had several petticoats underneath, and a black, leather belt accentuated his slim waist. The outfit was completed with fishnet stockings, black high-heeled boots, and a Santa hat.

Silky, black ribbons bound Keith’s arms behind his back, and tied his legs together at the ankles, and again above and below his knees. Another wide ribbon covered his mouth, tied in place by a large bow behind his head.

“Mnhrhph,” Keith whined. He squirmed in place. “Nnrmhfgh.”

“Wow, just what I wanted this year!” Lance grinned. “A bratty sub!”

“Mmph!”

“You came wrapped up so pretty too,” Lance tugged playfully at the ribbon around Keith’s head. “I know gifts are meant to be opened, but it seems a shame to undo all that hard work.”

Keith struggled against his bonds in protest.

“Oh, by the way,” Lance held up the remote, “you wouldn’t happen to know what this is, would you?”

Violet eyes widened. Before Keith could react, Lance clicked the button, watching with delight as Keith’s entire body seemed to jolt. A low hum filled the air as Keith curled further in on himself, his eyes fluttering shut with a breathy moan. He tried his best to glare balefully up at Lance, but the look was undermined by his flushed cheeks and the dew beginning to gather on his lashes.

Leaning his forearms on the rim of the box, Lance continued to torture Keith by flipping through the different vibration settings, which was even more fun now that he could properly see and hear his boyfriend. 

Keith truly was a vision. Even tucked into the limited space of the box, he managed to find new ways to writhe and thrash, drawing Lance’s eyes to the arch of his torso, the curl of his legs, the line of his neck as he tipped his head back with a wanton cry. 

Finally, Lance decided he could no longer merely sit and watch Keith. He had to touch. Slipping one arm behind Keith’s back and the other beneath his knees, Lance scooped him out of the box and carried him over to the couch. Sitting down, Lance arranged them so that Keith sat sideways across his lap.

“There, isn’t that better?” Lance tucked a stray lock of hair behind Keith’s ear, chuckling when Keith nuzzled against the touch. “Have you been good this year, Keith?” He leaned in closer, relishing in the way Keith shivered as Lance’s lips brushed against his ear. “Or have you been naughty?”

A strangled whimper escaped Keith’s throat, muffled further by the gag. Grabbing a fistful of ebony hair, Lance yanked Keith’s head back and attacked the pale column of his neck, licking and biting and sucking until it was covered in marks. All the while, Keith squirmed deliciously in his lap with little moans that stoked the heat in Lance’s lower stomach.

“Nnhmh,” Keith said. “Hmmgh fnmh!”

With one last nip at Keith’s earlobe, Lance pulled back. “Something to say?”

Keith nodded. Once the ribbon was unwound from his lips and the handkerchief stuffed inside his mouth was removed, he swallowed and said, “Please.”

“Please what?”

“Please,” Keith repeated, panting softly. “I...I need…”

Cradling his jaw, Lance asked, “What do you need, Keith?”

He felt the other man’s body shudder.

“You,” Keith replied, his cheeks flushed and pupils blown wide. “Please, I need you, Lance.”

Lance’s mouth went dry, and the fire raging inside of him burned brighter than ever. After taking a moment to make sure his dom persona didn’t slip, Lance allowed a rakish grin to spread across his face, sliding a hand up Keith’s thigh to tease beneath the hem of his skirt.

“Ah ah ah,” he tutted, “you haven’t answered my question. Only once I know if you’ve been naughty or nice will I be able to give you a proper gift.”

Keith bit his bottom lip, making it even more red and plump. Lance wanted to bite it too, but held himself back for the time being.

“Which one will get you to take this  _ thing _ out of me?” Keith asked.

“What do you think?”

After a moment of contemplation, Keith leaned closer and whispered something in Lance’s ear. Lance smirked.

“Oh my,” he purred, “sounds like you’ve been very naughty this year.”

Innocent, violet eyes blinked back at him. “Does that mean I don’t get my present?”

“Not quite. It means I get to pick your present for you, and you’re just gonna have to take it.”

Not that there was any chance Keith wouldn’t want whatever Lance gave him, judging by the way his breath hitched and his eyes grew that much more hazy. Before he could say anything, Lance slipped a hand behind Keith’s neck and drew him into a scorching kiss, ravishing his mouth with the single minded task of pulling as many of those sweet little moans out as he could.

Finally pulling away, Lance barely gave Keith a moment to catch his breath before stuffing the handkerchief back between his lips, and the surprised, muffled yelp sent another jolt of arousal down Lance’s spine.

He tied the ribbon over Keith’s mouth again, then turned to the matching ribbons around Keith’s ankles and thighs. A few quick tugs unravelled the knots. With Keith’s legs free, Lance removed the boots and languidly slid down the fishnet stockings, until all that was left were miles and miles of pale, flawless skin.

Lance reached under Keith’s fluffy skirt again, his fingers teasing at lacy, red lingerie. After a few moments of tugging and caressing without removing them, Keith let out a frustrated whine. 

“Patience, babe,” Lance said. “Good things come to those who wait.”

Seeing Keith’s unimpressed scowl, Lance grinned and punished his boyfriend with a quick pinch on his thigh.

“Mmph!”

Indignant, Keith flailed in Lance’s lap, forcing Lance to wrap his arms around Keith’s waist so he didn’t fall.

“Okay, okay,” Lance laughed. 

He hooked a finger around the lacy fabric and pulled. Now that there was no barrier in the way, Lance grasped the flared end of the vibrator sticking out of Keith and began to play with it, slowly working the toy in and out, centimeter by centimeter, occasionally twisting or nudging the angle. Keith’s eyes fluttered shut with a low moan.

Finally, he pulled the vibrator out completely. Keith’s whine stopped when he saw Lance pull himself out of his pants, replaced by an eager hum.

Lance grabbed the bottle of lube he’d set aside earlier and slicked himself up, then manhandled Keith so that Keith was facing forward in front of him, legs straddling Lance’s lap. With his hands on Keith’s waist, Lance carefully guided Keith to sink down until he was fully sheathed inside of Keith.

“Mmmnghh,” Keith moaned. 

He leaned back against Lance’s chest, tipping his head to rest on Lance’s shoulder. Grasping his chin, Lance turned Keith’s head to the side to kiss to his lips through the gag. While he continued to press a trail of kisses along Keith’s jawline, Keith let out another sigh and rocked his hips. Lance, however, stopped his motions by wrapping his arms around Keith’s waist and holding him in place.

“Not yet,” he murmured.

“Mmrgh?”

Smirking, Lance nodded at the cuckoo clock on the wall. “It’s not Christmas yet.”

Keith blinked. His dark eyebrows furrowed and he tried to wriggle out of Lance’s embrace, but Lance’ held on even tighter.

“Mnhf!”

“You were naughty, remember? This is your punishment.”

When it became obvious that his efforts were futile, Keith’s struggling petered out and he collapsed back against Lance’s chest with a huff. In a last ditch effort, he turned his big, pleading eyes toward Lance.

“Mmnnhmmf,” Keith whined.

“Nope,” Lance said. “Be good and we’ll see what happens.”

He grabbed the TV remote from the side table and turned on a Christmas movie. Neither of them paid much attention, of course. It was all part of the game. Keith continued to try to get Lance to break by writhing in his lap or letting out more pitiful noises while Lance continued to ignore him. It took every iota of Lance’s willpower, especially while buried inside of Keith’s heat.

After Keith’s third attempt to goad him, Lance grabbed a stray ribbon and said, “If you’re not gonna watch the movie then you might as well not watch anything at all.”

Keith struggled but Lance was able to blindfold him successfully. Now that Keith could no longer see him, Lance was free to stop pretending to watch the movie and ogle his boyfriend instead. 

As the time drew closer to midnight, Lance decided to up the ante. He swept Keith’s hair to the side and lowered his lips to the nape of Keith’s neck, kissing his way across the skin before sinking his teeth into the juncture between Keith’s neck and shoulder.

“Hhnmgh!” Keith cried. He once against tried to grind against Lance, only to let out a broken sob when Lance stopped him. 

“Not yet,” Lance said. “You’re so close. You can do it, babe, just a little bit longer.”

Keith whined and trembled, but obediently held still. Lance rewarded him with more love bites, kneading his thighs and ass and whispering words of praise.

After what felt like forever, the clock finally began to chime. As the last bells tolled, Lance drew Keith closer and brushed his lips against Keith’s ear.

“Looks like you’re a good boy, after all.”

He guided Keith to kneel up slightly, not quite pulling off of Lance all the way, before slamming back down. With Lance’s help, Keith bounced up and down with a loud, muffled keen, impaling himself again and again.

One hand still on Keith's waist, Lance reached his other hand up to grab Keith’s hair and pull, earning another breathy moan. Though it was a bit difficult with the position they were in, Lance did his best to meet Keith’s rhythm, thrusting up into him until Keith finally came with a muffled cry. Stars burst across Lance’s vision not long after, and he moaned into the soft fabric of Keith’s dress.

They stayed like that for a little while. Though he was now soft, being inside of Keith was no less pleasant. Eventually, though, they had to separate for cleanup and aftercare. Lance untied Keith’s wrists and removed the gag, then fetched a warm, wet washcloth to wipe them both down while Keith remained boneless on the couch. Once he was done, Lance coaxed his boyfriend back onto his lap with promises of massages and kisses.

Rubbing fragrant oil into Keith’s wrists, Lance pressed his lips to Keith’s cheek. “Merry Christmas, Keith.”

Already half asleep and utterly adorable, Keith returned the gesture with a sleepy kiss of his own.

“Merry Christmas, Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Next chapter we’ll be back to the normal photoshoots!
> 
> See you next time! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/


End file.
